Thursday 31 January 2013

Lyrics of the Day

This is it my dear old friend, our paths it seems are at an end. For now.
Though in time we floated free, we're pulled by separate gravities to ground.

But it's clear in the way we part (with our hearts together but our hands apart)
and it seems so hard to begin...
Best friends we'll always be, though your road don't follow me.
I know our paths will cross again.

Time has turned her face from me and spin spirals fancy free, I flew.
With nothing but the dawn to see and now I've got my memories of you.

Well the road is windy and the road is hard, and there's no telling just how far,
or how many letters I might send.
One day you'll walk with me against all probability.
I know our paths will cross again.

Time is like this fast freight train you gotta ride, you can't remain behind.
And all your friends are on separate tracks and some of them they won't look back to find.

The one place we all have known.
The one place we can call a home.
The place where each of us began.
Sure as that day rolls around, when the road back home is finally found, I know our paths will cross again.

Now my home is in a far off land, where love and time have made their stand against me.
And that's probably where I'm going to stay, it's probably where they'll marry me someday.

But after all is come and gone, and after every songs' been sung, there comes a thought I won't defend.
Sure stones are left unturned and on the streets where home fires burn,
I know our paths will cross again...

Josh Ritter: Paths will Cross

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Lyrics of the Day

In the heat of a summer night, in the land of the dollar bill,
when the town of Chicago died, and they talk about it still.

When a man named Al Capone tried to make that town his own,
and he called his gang to war, with the forces of the law.

I heard my mamma cry. I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother, what a night it really was.
Brother what a fight it really was. Glory be.

I heard my mamma cry. I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother, what a night it really was.
Brother what a fight it really was.
Yes, indeed.

And the sound of the battle rang through the streets of the old East side.
Till the last of the hoodlum gang had surrendered up or died.

There was shouting in the street and the sound of running feet.
And I asked someone who said 'bout a hundred cops are dead.'

I heard my mamma cry. I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother, what a night it really was.
Brother what a fight it really was.
Glory be.

I heard my mamma cry. I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother, what a night it really was.
Brother what a fight it really was.
Yes, indeed.

And there was no sound at all but the clock upon the wall.
Then the door burst open wide and my daddy stepped inside.
And he kissed my mamma's face and he brushed her tears away.

The night Chicago died. The night Chicago died.
Brother what a night the people saw. Brother what a fight the people saw. Yes, indeed.

Paper Lace: The Night Chicago Died

Monday 28 January 2013

App Review: Open Table

So there's another new App that's getting all this attention because it's AWESOME.

It's called Opentable.

This App has been around for a while, but I've only recently started using it. Usually for these newer 'fad' Apps I like to give it a few weeks (or even months) for them to work out the kinks.

Basically this App lists off restaurants in your area and you can make reservations through the App. By honouring these reservations (showing up, eating, then paying), you get 100 points per meal. These points add up until you redeem them for cheques (I think the lowest denomination is $25) that you can use at any participating Opentable restaurant.

So naturally I thought this was amazing. I hate calling places to make reservations. I get snooty people, haughty people, busy people, noisy people. I'd much rather have an automated system.

Opentable is also great because it allows you to choose from selected dining times. The most popular are obviously 6, 6:30, and 7... and I've never had a problem booking a table during one of those times. Another thing is, you can go to the Opentable website, OR use the App. Both have very user-friendly interfaces.

At first I was worried that Opentable would only have a very select number of restaurants. Or they'd only have the most 'expensive' restaurants. That isn't the case. Yes, most of the restaurants on Opentable are of the more posh and upscale variety, but you'd make reservations to eat at those places anyway, right? So you might as well earn points whilst doing so.
Opentable also includes some 'less fancy' restaurants, and some chain restaurants are included.

I really dig this App and intend to use it each time I plan on dining out!

Sunday 27 January 2013

My cat obsession

Lyrics of the Day

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot, with a pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot.

Don't it always seem to go... that you don't know what you've got till it's gone.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

They took all the trees and put 'em in a tree museum, and they charged all the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em.

Don't it always seem to go?
That you don't know what you've got til it's gone...
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Hey farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now, give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees (please!)

Don't it always seem to go?
That you don't know what you've got til it's gone.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Late last night the screen door slam...
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man.

Don't it always seem to go?
That you don't know what you've got til it's gone...
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Joni Mitchell: Big Yellow Taxi

Saturday 26 January 2013

Lyrics of the Day

She keeps Moet et Chando in her pretty cabinet
'Let them eat cake' she says, just like Marie Antoinette
A built-in remedy for Kruschev and Kennedy
At anytime an invitation,
You can't decline

Caviar and cigarettes
Well versed in etiquette
Extraordinarily nice

She's a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime

Recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
Wanna try?

To avoid complications, she never kept the same address
In conversation, she spoke just like a baroness
Met a man from China, went down to Geisha Minah
Then again incidentally...
If you're that way inclined

Perfume came naturally from Paris
For cars she couldn't care less
Fastidious and precise

Drop of a hat she's as willing as, playful as a pussy cat
Then momentarily out of action
Temporarily out of gas
To absolutely drive you wild, wild..
She's all out to get you

Recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
Wanna try?
You wanna try...

Queen: Killer Queen

Friday 25 January 2013

Trying to Adopt a Kitty

For the last year or so I've felt the urge to adopt a pet.

I have always loved animals (at least for as long as I can consciously remember). I have always had friends with animals, but only had a cat for a while when I was about 7 years old.

So now, being much older, I really want a cat. Or specifically, a kitty.

Man. They're tough to find.

For one thing, everyone wants kittens. It seems that people want the cute and cuddly young things with their eyes as big as plates in their heads. So most of the time when I look at the SPCA website or at other shelters, all the kittens get adopted within two days of being posted.

No one seems to want black cats. I don't really get it. Is this superstition? Cats are colourblind, can't we be as nondiscriminatory as them?
How is this not cute.
Anyway, my hunt continues. Of course my parents can be picky too. My mom doesn't want a black cat, we both don't want long haired cats, she wants a tabby, she wants one about 5 months old (specific enough?), and of course she wants one that's never been sick or injured.

These are rescue cats! They've been injured (maybe only emotionally) before. Regardless of how picky my mother seems to be, I am bent on getting a rescue. I don't believe in buying $800 cats when there are cats out there in need of a home. Those purebred pets aren't desperately seeking a home, they'll do fine. It's the strays, abandoned, and abused animals that I want to adopt.

So the hunt continues, with my long list of requirements. I'm hoping that one day everyone can adopt a pet if they're able. Animals really are a balm for the soul on rainy days.

Lyrics of the Day

I was just bony hands as cold as a winter pole.
You held a warm stone out, new flowing blood to hold
Oh what a contrast you were to the brutes in the halls.
My timid young fingers held a decent animal.

Over the ramparts you tossed the scent of your skin and some foreign flowers
Tied to a brick, sweet as a song...
The years have seemed short but the days were long.

Cool of a temperate breeze from dark skies to wet grass
We fell in a field it seems, now a thousand summers passed
When our kite lines first crossed we tied them into knots
And to finally fly apart, we had to cut them off.

Since then it's been a book you read in reverse, so you understand less as the pages turn
Or a movie so crass and awkwardly cast that even I could be the star.

I don't look back much as a rule
And all this way before murder was cool...
But your memory is here and I'd like it to stay, warm light on a winter's day.

Over the ramparts you tossed the scent of your skin and some foreign flowers
Tied to a brick,
Sweet as a song
The years have seemed short but the days go slowly by...
Two loose kites falling from the sky, drawn to the ground and then to flight.

The Shins: Pink Bullets

Thursday 24 January 2013

Lyrics of the Day

You only live twice, or so it seems.
One life for yourself, and one for your dreams.
You drift through the years and life seems tame,
Till one dream appears, and love is its name.

And love is a stranger who'll beckon you on.
Don't think of the danger, for the stranger is gone.
This dream is for you, so pay the price.
Make one dream come true, you only live twice.

Nancy Sinatra: You Only Live Twice

My ideal crazy outdoor patio

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Haiku of the Day

Why bother with good?
Your multitude of dark sins.
Who's truly impressed?

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Haiku of the Day

Thinking of reboots.
Haircuts and remodeling.
Who dictates beauty?

Monday 21 January 2013

One Sentence Movie Reviews: We Need to Talk About Kevin

A psychologically troubled child psychologically tortures his mother while she tries to prove his troubled mind and he just keeps acting creepy.

Should you watch it?
Sure. If you like creepy children who don't really make any sense, and if you don't mind there not being much 'closure' at the end of films. I thought it was okay. I'm glad I saw it, but I wouldn't go see it again. Kevin is such a jerk!


Saturday 19 January 2013

Lyrics of the Day

There was a man, a lonely man
Who lost his love through his indifference

A heart that cared
That went unshared
Until it died within his silence

And solitaire's the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
And by himself it's easy to pretend
He'll never love again

And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love, it always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire

A little hope goes up in smoke
Just how it goes
Goes without saying

There was a man, a lonely man
Who would command the hand he's playing

And solitaire's the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
And by himself it's easy to pretend
He'll never love again

And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love, tt always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire

And solitaire's the only game in town

And every road that takes him
Takes him down
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire

The Carpenters: Solitaire

Friday 18 January 2013

January Topbox

This is my final Topbox. Sadly.

This month was amazing... they gave me amazing samples in generous sizes. But truly, I cannot use up all the samples I've been receiving via subscription. Plus it really adds up over the months, and I think I'd rather spend my money on other products for now.

I may join Topbox again, but I'm going to take a break for about a year.

This month was themed. Basically Topbox has this new program where your sample tube will be filled with samples from ONE brand. These are supposed to be prestige brands, and each month Topbox members can choose from the regular Topbox or the special "Privé box."

Cute little Clinique branded Topbox box. Adorbs.
However, one caveat that Topbox didn't mention is that the Privé boxes are in limited quantities, so basically members have to make a wishlist and HOPE they get the Privé boxes that month. Kind of a crap-shoot if you ask me. Many subscribers have also shown concern that only beauty bloggers and Youtubers are going to be receiving the Privé boxes... and I can't help but imagine there's some reason for that concern.

Onto my Clinique box:

Rinse off Makeup Remover Solvent: I've used this before on my sensitive eyes and it's fantastic. Doesn't irritate or sting, plus it doesn't feel too 'soapy' or have too much residue.
Clarifying Lotion in 3: This is what my Mom and I have both been using for years (my mom for decades). She and I both love this stuff. We both also use the number 3 lotion, so I'm glad Topbox actually considered my beauty profile for this selection. I've photographed it next to the makeup remover for size comparison.
Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector: I've heard many good things about this but haven't ever tried it. I know this runs for quite the pretty penny in stores, so I'm glad I'll get a chance to try this. My mom was actually very stoked about this too, as she has dark spots. There's even a manual for usage, in case you didn't think skincare was complicated enough...
Finally, the Colour Eyeshadow Duo: This is cute. I have a few of these from Clinique promo bags in the past, but this is by far the 'springest' colour duo I've gotten. There's a pink! Plus it slides out of an adorable mirrored slot. Love.

Overall impression of January's box:

I am very pleased with what I got this month. I am glad to see that Topbox seems to be paying attention to what subscribers want, and are making changes. I am sorry to unsubscribe, but that's how the story always goes. Maybe one day I'll be rich and can afford subscribing to 4 subscription boxes a month. But for right now that's not the case... Alas I will be stuck using up my samples and shopping in stores like a regular consumer for now!

Lyrics of the Day

Got on board a westbound 747
Didn't think before deciding what to do
Oh, that talk of opportunities
TV breaks and movies
Rang true
Sure rang true

Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But girl don't they warn ya:
It pours, man it pours

Out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self respect, I'm out of bread
I'm underloved, I'm underfed, I wanna go home

It never rains in California
But girl don't they warn ya
It pours, man it pours

Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it
Had offers but didn't know which one to take
Please don't tell 'em how you found me
Don't tell 'em how you found me
Gimme a break, give me a break

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California...
But girl don't they warn ya:
It pours, man it pours

Albert Hammond: It Never Rains in Southern California

Thursday 17 January 2013

Thought of the Day

My irrational fears.

I am afraid of clowns. This is irrational. I know I fear clowns because of the movie IT! by Stephen King.
I also know I am afraid of clowns because their disguise their body shape, size, and face. They could be serial killers and I'd never be able to profile them with that creepy ass coloured makeup on.
However, I am well aware that people don't get attacked by clowns. It doesn't happen.

I am also afraid of spiders. It isn't because I think they'll bite me. It's because they're so small that they can disappear and I don't know when they might crawl up on me. Also, anything with more than 4 legs is strange to me.

I have a very irrational fear that something will crawl into my right ear when I am sleeping. For years I can only fall asleep if that ear is covered. If a strand of hair happens to brush by that ear? I flip. I have also noticed that my right ear hole is slightly larger than the left. This encourages my fear that something could easily slip inside, eat my brains, and possess me.

Beyond that, however, I have quite a normal disposition and don't fear many things. Large dogs? No problem. Dark areas? I can run around. Snakes? I find them graceful and beautiful. Heights? No problem. I can look straight down. Lightning? Cool! Injections? No biggie. Yes, I fear the pain that comes with it, but that's because I'm not a sadist. Flying? Flying is fine. I'm afraid of falling though... but most people and their dogs are too.

But my biggest irrational fear?
Dirty bathroom floors when I'm barefoot.
One tiny cut on my foot, and I believe I'll get the worst viral infection that's incurable. Long black hairs intertwined with gum, bandages, soapy residue... I could pass out just thinking about it.
For as long as I can remember, I will wear sandals in any changeroom in fear of treading on this horror. And yes, there are times where I just have to be barefoot. In which case I will take hand sanitizer and douse my entire lower body with it.

That kind of struck me today, as I was speaking with my Dad. Turns out he has the exact same fear of dirty floors. Wonder what that could have stemmed from.

Though I know it's irrational to fear these things, I still take precautions. I don't want to be that 1 in 100000 that gets that horrible disease or gets poisoned by the rarest spider ever found. So I'll shy away from clowns. I'll keep my sandals near me, and I'll pull those covers up tight against my ears at night.

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Thought of the Day

Why do people seem to think things are 'better' if they're bought at full price?

I know a few people who do this. I know this is more the exception than the rule, but I find it very odd when people avoid sale racks or sections.

And for some reason, I was like that too. It didn't last long (it was when I first became a teenager), but at the time I thought things were just crappier if they went on sale. I believed that only the highest quality stuff was full priced, so I'd never even check out the sale sections.

Oddly enough, some of those people never broke that habit. There are a few friends I regularly shop with that never go into the 'back section' of stores. I'm not sure if they have the impression that everything back there is broken, damaged, flawed, or out of season. Regardless of why they don't go back there, they're missing out.

Yes, if you care about current in-season merchandise, then the sale section isn't for you. But if you care that much about being fashionable and up to date, then you probably shouldn't be shopping with me.

I am all about things that last. I love a deal, and I love finding stuff on sale. It gives me a rush to know I've saved money.

So when we wander into a store and the entire place is on sale, my eyes light up. My friend? Her eyes and her feet head straight to the door. There's nothing more nightmarish to her than holding a bag with the big bad 'SALE' word plastered on it. As if it's a sign to the entire world that she isn't wealthy enough to afford full-priced items.

Why can't we be excited to save a few bucks? Those bucks add up, and if you really think about it... stores have to get rid of older merchandise. Most people have no idea if the shoes you're wearing are from a year ago or 5. And no, I don't care to know how much you spent on that (unless it was really cheap, in which case WHERE did you get it!), so please leave it to yourself.

So if I'm dragged into another store where nothing is on sale and I notice this strange sadistic smile on your face? When you shell out tons of money for something I figure I could find for half the price? I die a little bit inside.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Zooey love

Pet Peeve of the Day

Gift Cards

Thanks for this generic gift. Thanks for saying 'hey, I'm not really sure what kind of things you're into so here's money in the form of a slightly more personal form.'

Thanks for completely limiting me to the type of things I can get for myself.

Understood, you could get me a general gift card to a mall. But usually this isn't the case. Usually it's a gift card to a store. Starbucks. Mcdonalds. Thanks for thinking I'm a coffee-addicted fatty.

Seriously though, the weeks after Christmas I see all the people in the malls using up their gift cards. You'll see the desperation, that moment of anxiety when they realize they don't really like much in the store but they feel the pressure of having to use the gift card.

After all, 'treat like cash,' right?

But no, not treat like cash. Cash I can use anywhere. Cash can be traded and exchanged. I can't give a store my gift card and ask for cash. They'd know instantly I'd take that cash elsewhere. So more like 'PLEASE think of me like cash. But I'm a poor substitute. By the way here's 50 restrictions I have.'

So let's be considerate. Try for an original gift. Even if you got me a sweater from a store I never would've shopped from... at least I know you made an effort. Yes, there are people out there that are so picky and particular that I'd never buy a gift but opt for a gift card instead.

But those people are few and far between.

I know this all comes off as being very first-world-problems. But realize that if you choose to give someone a gift (thank you, your thoughts have been appreciated), try to think about that person. Their style. Their likes and dislikes. Their budget (if I have to pitch in lots of my own money just to afford one item from this store I'll cry...), and their pragmatism.

Monday 14 January 2013

Outfit of the Day

Outfit of the Day


Warehouse mesh shirt
$32 - warehouse.co.uk


Wrap coat
$110 - desireclothing.co.uk




Messenger bag
maggiebags.net

App Review

I found an amazing App!

Well, there are a lot of amazing Apps. I regularly check out the App store to see whether there are newer Apps or highly reviewed Apps that I should get.

Now note that I will buy Apps if they're really highly recommended or highly rated. But this App is absolutely free!

It's called Bump.

Basically if you've seen that commercial (Samsung Galaxy I think) it depicts people bumping their phones together to transfer files. There's another commercial where two people do this and a guy who's trying to buy an iPhone looks on with jealousy.

Uhm, guys. Anyone can do this. You just need this free App: Bump!

You can get it off the App store for nothing. And it is incredible. You literally just set up phones with this App, and you Bump them together. Using wifi (or your phone network if you don't have wifi available), your phone will recognize another phone and transfer information.

This includes:
contact information
songs
files
pictures
videos

Not only can you do this from phone to phone (even across platforms), you can even bump to your computer. I love this idea. I hate having to always plug in my phone via wire to get photos off it. Or to put some songs back to my computer (there's an App for that too). Now you can Bump items off your phone to your computer wirelessly.

Go to bu.mp to check out the computer App. I have only great things to say about this App. So glad my friend recommended it to me.