something charming

if i had a coin

2007-08-10T15:20:00.000+01:00

Nothing has really happened lately to be honest. My main news is that I finally found a job, which is amazing considering I've been looking all summer. It's a bar job at a local hotel/restaurant, so I'll be dealing with weddings and proms and the like. I imagine I'll be doing some waitressing too, but at the moment it's just bar work. Very excited about this, mainly about the money, since I owe my friend about 100 quid from borrowing a tenner here and twenty there.

BUT, the main thing I'm excited about these days is Leeds Festival. It's in twelve days and it's the best weekend of the year. The comedy stage was just announced the other day to reveal Simon Amstell and Ed Byrne, among a fair few more comedians who I'm sure are amazing. I doubt I'll have time to see them though, considering the music lineup is too perfect for my own good. Been making up for this by watching a disgusting amount of late night Paramount Comedy, it's showing loads of shows from the Fringe festival, Just For Laughs and Comedy Blue. Old stand up from Noel Fielding and very rude material from Ed Byrne. Yes please.

Anyway, that's seriously all I have to say.
When I get the photos from Claire, I'll put up photos from my nice day out on Tuesday. Just a few pubs, lunch & a night out with some of my closest friends.
Until then, stuff I like...

Paramount Comedy
paramount comedy official website
What I've been watching each night before I go to bed.

Thirty Seconds To Mars
tstm myspace page
Jared Leto's band, you've probably heard of them. Maybe. I didn't get into them until recently, because what I'd heard I wasn't a huge fan of, but I kept watching the videos for his face, and I was like, 'wow, they're good.'
On their MySpace, on the left hand side, watch the video for From Yesterday. It's the full video, with acting clips in it. Brilliant.

Roddick vs Djokovic
news page on andy's website
Two of my favourite players play each other. Except I won't get to see it. Great.

King Blues
the king blues myspace page
Amazing reggae band. Saw them last year supporting Capdown and seeing them again on Tuesday, can't wait.

camp big tree

2007-07-21T20:15:00.000+01:00

This week has been a good one, it definitely makes up for how uneventful my last post was. I've been camping on an island, had a good night out and even got a tattoo.

"Wow! How did that all come about?"

Well, let me tell you.

During my boring week approximately two weeks ago, we decided we were going to go camping in Arran for a few days. We've tried this a couple of times before and we never, ever got around to actually doing it, so this time we were determined. We got up early on Wednesday morning, everyone met at Gillian's house (where I conveniently just stayed over the night before) and planned our trip. Ate breakfast, bought alcohol, got the bus to Adrossan, got on the ferry to Arran and by about 4pm on Wednesday we were there. But with nowhere to camp. So we really just wandered aimlessly for over an hour, through golfcourses and country parks, before finding the perfect spot at the end of the golfcourse. Right behind the beach, water tap, a fire pit already there... excellent.

So BASICALLY, we spent Wednesday - Friday smoking, drinking and eating a lot. It was disgusting how much we ate, but it was so glorious at the same time. Oh, we went on an adventure too, and found some dinosaurs and a seagull wearing sunglasses, naturally.

tennis on the beach!

It helped with the withdrawal.

Gillian fell off of that

Would we kill a seagull? Of course we wouldn't.

Would we put sunglasses on one that is already dead? Of course we would.

On the morning walk to the ferry home.

All in all, it was an excellent few days and we're doing it again asap.

We got back on the Friday afternoon and on Friday night we went to our local pub/"club", The Cavern. It was pretty empty, but the people there were good people. We drank a lot, danced a lot and then went to Allen's (the guy in the camping photos) house for some more alcohol and also some ghetto tattooing. Ghetto tattooing is simply being tattooed by your mate who brings a tattoo gun to a party, and you wake up the next morning with 'I LOVE SELLATAPE' on your calf. He doesn't do it without your permission, but the person is generally out of their face when they say 'DRAW A PENIS ON MY STOMACH'. This is when Claire and Laura got their tattoos of 'PFS'.

The story of PFS;

As far as I know, Pirate Flagship (PFS) was a racehorse from a few years ago which Claire could have bet on, and won a lot of money with, but she did not. Since that day she'd been nicknamed Pirate Flagship, and after a while it was no longer about the horse, but about PFS and friends and good times together, and pirate themed birthday cakes. Last year, we signed a contract (on a napkin, written in biro) saying that if Claire got her name as 'Pirate Flagship' on an official document, we'd all get it tattooed. She did.

They got it on Friday, Gillian and I got it today.

So now I have a three letter symbol of my teenage years and how amazing my friends are and how much they mean to me. On my ass.

click to enlarge

That's all for this week, apart from things I like/recommendations of course.

This week, comedians.

Dylan Moran
dylan moran fansite
I've liked this guy for quite some time now, saw him last August and it was phenomenal. He's very cynical, but also very childlike and innocent which combines to make him my favourite comedian. Or at least top 3. Top 2, perhaps. The other in the top two being

Ross Noble
ross noble official website
Surreal, very visual. Very, very funny. To be fair, with his accent, he could say anything and I'd laugh.

Russell Howard

russell howard official website

It's under construction at the moment, but it has tour dates on it. But they're probably pointless because I don't think anyone from the UK actually reads my blog. ANYWAY, he's funny, and just search for him on YouTube or MySpace or anything like that.

Sean Lock

sean lock's myspace page

When I get married, I want my husband to be exactly like Sean Lock. If you search for '8 Out of 10 Cats' on YouTube then you'll see him on that show, which is basically a comedy celebrity panel show hosted by Jimmy Carr. Very good.

Frankie Boyle
frankie boyle official website
He's Scottish >thumbs up<>

He has some videos up on his MySpace page but I just found this on YouTube and it's pretty handy for showing you what Frankie's like.

Okay, I could list about 50 comedians I like and think you to everything about them, but my eyes hurt, that's all for now.

'so wonderfully french'

2007-07-15T12:26:00.001+01:00

I bloody told you. I have already forgotten to post again and I wouldn't be posting right now if Practically Dutch hadn't reminded me. Thankyou for that!

Anyway, I guess the reason I haven't posted is that not that much has happened this week. I've had some tennis withdrawal, which basically just involves coming home and thinking you're going to sit down and watch some tennis, then you remember it isn't on, and you lie in the foetal position for the rest of the afternoon.

Tuesday was the aforementioned Drive By Argument video shoot for 'Dance Like No One's Watching'. And we did. It was held in a little club in the centre of Glasgow and we turned up at half past twelve, just like they told us to, only to then be told that the club had been double booked.

"So if you could come back at about 6 o'clock that'd be excellent."

Right. So what can you do for five hours in Glasgow? Not enough money to shop, or to go for a fancy lunch. So we went to the pub. Three pubs, in fact. By the time it was six we were fairly merry and strutted along to the Sub Club, only to find that they too had alcohol, and this time it was free. And then they told us to dance. It's safe to say that I'm not on the edge of my seat waiting to see this video. I lost my camera that day, too, which is possibly the worst thing to have happened to me in life ever. Or at least this year. Maybe second worst. It's bad, basically. Don't tell my mum.

I was out last night for my friend's 21st night out which was entertaining. We left early to go back to a mate's flat and just sat around until 5am, drawing on Mark and smoking our lungs away. (I'm trying to quit). Then this morning we were walking to Central Station to get the train, but we took a trip to Marks & Spencers first for general hangover cures like posh sandwiches and sliced melon (we're dickheads) but while waiting in the queue, I find myself distracted by a very good looking man in fetching glasses and black skinny jeans. Then I think 'Hmm, I recognise that fella', and then more people walk in, and I think, 'Crikey! That's The Teenagers!'. They're a French band with good songs and crude, vile lyrics.

they're very good and you should listen to them.

I'm very sorry, but that's all I've got to say for now. Hopefully something very exciting will happen soon.

Things I've liked this week which I think you should like too,

The lyrics to 'Torn on the Platform' by Jack Penate
lyrics mania
If you really like the city that you live in, then you'll probably like the lyrics to this song. The song itself is very good too, and you can listen to it on his MySpace page here.

Croissants
like those ones
Especially with chocolate spread. Zapped in the microwave for ten seconds or so. Perfection.

abc1
abc1 official website
I have only just discovered this channel. Well, I knew it was there and I knew it was good, but I never knew the number for the channel so I didn't bother. Now I know. It is 170. (if you have Sky digital). Basically I can watch this channel all day without even flicking during the adverts.

just tennis really.

2007-07-07T18:13:00.000+01:00

Well the main issue of this post is obviously (to me) Wimbledon, and I don't apologise if it bores you. I look forward to it every year mainly for a certain Andy Roddick, and stock up on my berries and drink as much tea as my body can physically handle. Unfortunately, A-Rod was rudely knocked out of Wimbledon yesterday in the quarter finals (impressive, yes?) by Frenchman Richard Gasguet, approporiately pronounced 'Gas-gay'. I may or may not have cried excessively, and this may or may not have been an acceptable reaction. By the way, I did and it was.

"If I didn't want pressure, I'd go make sandwiches somewhere."

And that wasn't the only disappointment of Wimbledon 2007, however it definitely was the worst. Today was the Semi-finals with Djokovic/Nadal and Federer/Gasquet which you'd think would be an exciting day, wouldn't you? No. Because three sets into the Djokovic/Nadal match, Mr Novak is forced to pull out due to a number of injuries (leg, back, and a pathetic toe injury. The toe fiasco was pathetic but he truely was injured in the other places). As a result, Nadal swings on through to the final, undeservedly. Don't get me wrong, I like Nadal and it doesn't take Orlando Bloom to realise that he is a phenomenal tennis player. HOWEVER, I truely believe that if Djokovic was 100% fit, he would have beaten Nadal and made his way to the Wimbledon final. Anyway, as that match was happening (and then not happening), Federer was royally beating Gasquet to get to the final, again. Who'll win? Federer. If someone takes Federer's title, I don't want it to be the no.2 seed, I want it to be someone coming from nowhere to put him in his place. Again, I like Federer too, but after four years of Federer at the top, you start cheering for the underdogs. Maybe next year.

In other news, I will be in the new Drive By Argument video, 'Dance Like No One's Watching'. If you haven't heard this band, I hand on my heart suggest that you do. Over two years ago (possibly three?) I saw them at Stewarton Town Hall at a charity event with local bands. In all honesty, they were the first 'local' band who I've ever heard and thought 'Wow, they're actually excellent', and I still think that. Anyway, that'll be good, as long as I don't have to act. Look for me really late at night on MTV2.

Live Earth, I'll touch briefly on this. I have mixed opinions on things like this, but my biggest hate is people who say they're completely pointless and it's common sense and they've been saving the planet since they were five years old. I really don't care. If that's the case, then this isn't for you, it's as simple as that. It's for the millions of people who maybe, after watching this, will turn the TV off after they leave the room. One complaint is Sky's 'Interactive' feature. Unlike Live 8, Live Earth does not let you choose which country you want to watch. It picks one and that's it. Personally I really wanted to keep checking back to New York for Taking Back Sunday. It was not to be.

That's all I have to say for today/this week. I'll just end with some links to things I've been enjoying this week.

Tokyo Police Club
tokyo police club official myspace
"Tokyo Police Club are undeniably catchy and raw, marrying danceable hooks with talk of robot masters and global emergencies, providing an upbeat soundtrack to our troubled times."

Kate Nash lyrics
lyrics mania

This girl sums up everything. Even things you've never felt before (love, perhaps). She makes you think you have, while you're crying into your pillow at how perfect her lyrics are. I recommend Birds, We Get On and The Nicest Thing. Some may be better, but I haven't heard them all. She's touring soon too, small venues. Cheap. See her.

Toasties
the toastie maker

Tuna toasties. Just bread, just tuna. It's like eating a hug. A bit like cup-a-soup, for people who don't like soup.

Hilary Duff movies
hilary duff's imdb profile

I particularly enjoy A Cinderella Story and The Perfect Man.

and of course
Andy Roddick's face
this is it
Even when it's like that.

a simple introduction

2007-07-01T17:06:00.000+01:00

Good afternoon (I did actually type 'afterboob' there. Good start.)

This morning I decided to start my own blog for no apparent reason, other than maybe watching The Perfect Man last night. I guess Hilary Duff has some sort of motivational effect on me.

Now, I don't know what all you crazy kids blog about, but I'd just like to let you all know that this is not a place to find inspiring and beautiful art and poetry, nor is it somewhere to come when you're looking for some insightful, witty stories and anecdotes. No, this is just going to be about me, and my thoughts, and things I like. I understand that I'll be the only person interested in these things, so I don't expect many of you to read this, but it gives me something to do over summer.

That's a photograph of me, on the left. Oh, yes, by the way, I'm female and my name is Christina. Eighteen years old, living near Glasgow, born in America. You'll soon find out the rest.

Some people I'll probably mention a lot;

Gillian; the best friend
Rachael; another good friend
Jo; my sister, probably won't get mentioned much but will pop up now and again.
Hot Rod; Andy Roddick.

The others will probably be somewhat self explanatory, or I'll explain them at the time.

Other places you can find me are;
myspace account
photography myspace account
deviantART
flickR
That'll do for now.
Proper post coming up soon.