#73, a playlist for June

Today I’m sharing my June playlist which features the likes of music you’ve not heard for a decade or more. Expect to see some Outkast, Moloko, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lauryn Hill, Hole, and many others that will make you painfully nostalgic.

Tracklist:

1. Ms. Jackson, Outkast
2. Freestyler, Bomfunk MC’s
3. Hypnotize, The Notorious B.I.G
4. Doo Wop (That Thing), Lauryn Hill
5. Rendezvous, Craig David
6. Never Be The Same Again, Melanie C
7. Let Me Blow Ya Mind, Eve (Feat. Gwen Stefani)
8. Jumpin’, Jumpin’, Destiny’s Child
9. Shackles (Praise You), Mary Mary
10. Sing It Back, Moloko
11. The Boy Is Mine, Brandy (Feat. Monica)
12. Breaking The Girl, Red Hot Chili Peppers
13. Lose Yourself, Eminem
14. Still D.R.E, Dr. Dre (Feat. Snoop Dogg)
15. Get Back, Ludacris
16. Gossip Folks, Missy Elliott (Feat. Ludacris)
17. The Bad Touch, Bloodhound Gang
18. Fight For Your Right, Beastie Boys
19. Renegades of Funk, Rage Against The Machine
20. My Way, Limp Bizkit
21. Celebrity Skin, Hole
22. Sex Is Not The Enemy, Garbage
23. Pretend We’re Dead, L7
24. Loser, Beck

Enjoy! Feel free to add to the playlist in the comments (:

I’d appreciate your input.

#72, 3 things I know I shouldn’t DIY

I’m sure other people do things like this all the time and it turns out fine. I’m not one of those people:

1. Dye my hair. Firstly, my hair is super dark, so no box-colour ever really works. Secondly, no one should ever really bleach their hair themselves… It’s just not good common sense, really, is it? I mean, I know some people do, and I know sometimes it turns out fine. But, it’s really a very high risk strategy.
2. Make alterations to a shirt. Don’t get me wrong, I can sew. If you lose buttons or wanna put a patch on a jacket – I got you covered. But, I can’t fix the disparity between the waist size and bust size of a women’s shirt. I understand the concept of darts, however in practice I just can’t achieve them. Trust me, I’ve laid to rest many shirts trying.
3. Give myself, or someone else, a perfect manicure. Like, I can’t even paint my nails without smudging it 0.01 seconds after application. And, some of those manicure tools just look downright dangerous.

It can’t just be me, right?

#71, book review: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

This book was described as a book in letters, that is in fact the tagline of this novel. And, keeping in mind that I’m not always the brightest crayon in the pack, I didn’t quite realise that this meant that Ella Minnow Pea was an epistolary novel. Meaning, a novel literally comprised of letters between people on the small, fictional, island of Nollop. Now, this appeals to my inherent nosiness (reading other people’s correspondence, the scandal!), as well as my own personal romantic ideas of snail mail.

Nollop is a the hometown of the famous Nevin Nollop who is given credit for creating the pangram “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”. The island has a statue of the man, who is well respected by all the islands inhabitants. The novel’s main interest develops at the memorial statue of Nevin Nollop, which houses the pangram on glued tiles. As it begins to wear and tear with age, some by some, the tiles of the pangram begin to fall off. As they do, the government of Nollop decide to take it upon themselves to banish the use of these letters, in verbal or written communication. And so, the correspondence between residents takes an obvious toll.

The novel has strong themes of censorship, and what it is like to live under a totalitarian rule, as well as lighter plots of love, and friendship. The format of the novel is refreshing and cleverly portrays just how difficult it becomes to communicate all manner of things with a dwindling alphabet. The novel also brings forward the strength of human spirit, and the unwillingness to bow down and accept the unacceptable just because it is being overbearingly forced upon you. It highlights the importance of fighting from the inside for justice and what is right, no matter how small your minority is. In this way, the novel works to be very inspiring, and is the perfect quick read that will tug on your consciousness and maybe push you to make some positive decisions about how you’re going to live your life with all your letters.

Review here on goodreads. Feel free to follow me on goodreads here. 

Happy reading!

#70, is that really what my natural brows are like?

With the return of the bold brow, many woman like myself, have started to grow out their natural brows. Now, if you’re anything like me, you probably haven’t seen your natural brow shape in a decade. It’s easy to get used to the forced arch you put in every couple weeks and the far apart rounded beginnings. So, it really did catch me off-guard to see how truly shapeless my natural eyebrows are. (Granted, it could be a lot worse, and I’m not exactly walking around with caterpillars on my face)

However, it’s not exactly ideal to have your eyebrows feel like they’ve gone from a “work of art” to, well, if we’re honest, just a bit of a mess. In any case, what I find to be the most shocking element about the whole thing is… Well, no one’s really seemed to notice. (And, trust me, I have friends who definitely say what they think and would have no problems holding me down and threatening to sort out my brows FOR me if I won’t do it myself)

They say eyebrows “really frame your face” but maybe I’m starting to feel like they’re not really that big of a deal at all? It’s all about feeling comfortable with ourselves, right? From the eyebrows outwards… And, I can honestly say that the liberating feeling that came with demoting my tweezers to a mediocre importance in my life, outweighs the perfectly balanced arch and thickness routine of yesteryear.

Let’s see how this changes as sculpted brows come back.

#69, 6 places it is 100% acceptable to take a cat nap

1. During your daily commute, you work hard treat yo’ self
2. During any major sporting events, it’s like when a video game gets too intense and you have to pause and have a little breather before you carry on (c’mon, that can’t just be me?)
3. During a man vs. food style eating endeavour, endurance is key
4. Just before you start any chores, particularly but not limited to laundry, washing the car, and ironing of any kind
5. During Pacific Rim, cause I watched it without the nap and the visuals gave me a headache, also the storyline is tenuous at best
6. In an exam, after you realise you don’t know what in the hell is going on anymore, because why the hell not?

#68, rules for the perfect winged liner

1. Don’t you fucking sneeze
2. Respect the fact that this liner is obviously terrified of being too close to your lash line
3. Wings are sisters, not twins
4. If at first you don’t succeed, try a daytime smoky eye instead
5. What the fuck did I just say about sneezing?

#67, upgrades

It is the worst time in 18 months. It’s time for me to upgrade my phone. This is stupidly stressful for the following reasons

• Nowadays, a phone is much more than a phone. A phone is a camera, a phone is a photo editor, a phone is an all around internet machine. In fact, I hardly ever call people from my phone – at least, not compared to the amount of people I tweet from my phone. So, it’s important that my new phone can do the things (you know, the ones my old phone did perfectly well this whole while).

 

• Everyone has an opinion; camp iPhone, camp Android. Those poor souls that have windows phones. Everyone has an opinion on what phone you should get and will judge you based on what you end up with. Furthermore, whenever next my new phone goes on the blink (probably because I’ve dropped it for about the millionth time) there’s always that asshole who goes “well, you shoulda got a *insert phone and model here*”. Whatta jerk.

 

• All of the networks want to force me into a 24 month contract. I can’t even commit to breakfast cereal, how can I commit to the same phone for TWO WHOLE YEARS?

 

• The pressure to get an iPhone. Should I? Shouldn’t I? It sure would be nice to sync my phone to my laptop, but do I really want to be that much of an apple fangirl? And, let’s not ignore the overarching guilt that this is all just the biggest and most awful first world problem.

 

Conclusion: phones are stupid, I’m reverting back to snail mail.

#66, cupcakes that look like flowers

 

Cupcakes that look flowers are a present in two-fold.

1. It’s a cake for one. You don’t have to share a cupcake.
2. It’s a flower that doesn’t die. It lives on forever… In your gut.

Okay, maybe this won’t appeal to everyone. But they appeal to me. Let’s not get it twisted, though… I like all cakes and all flowers.

I’m very liberal.

#65, instant cheer-er up-er

TGIF.

#64, things that sound like compliments, but aren’t

1. You’re so pretty now, compared to when you were younger. 

   Shut up, I’ve always been a majestic sugar fairy. Who are you to suggest otherwise?

2. That outfit really works on you, I mean, I’d never wear it, but it works on you.

   Thanks, Regina George.

3. I love that you always choose comfort over style.

   Why does anyone need to dress up for the supermarket anyway? Because you always bump into *that* person, that’s why.

4. You’re looking really healthy these days.

   You’ve gained some weight since I last saw you, ain’t you porky?

5. You sure do read a lot, huh? I wish I had that much free time.

   Hey man, everyone’s gotta have a hobby.

6. Your sister is so pretty! 

   Yeah, I’m not sure how we’re related either.

7. Your brother is very handsome, too!

   Okay, I get it, I’m the runt of the litter – what do you want from me?

8. There’s no way you’re a physicist, you’re too pretty!

   What kinda fuckery…?

9. You’re not like a typical girl, though. You’re like one of the guys.

   No, no I’m not.

10. You look really tired.

    It is never okay to say this to people, okay? Stop it. Yes, I mean you.

(Note: All of these are taken out of context, and I can appreciate that most of the people who said these things to me didn’t actually mean to offend me. Don’t worry, I have a sense of humour about these sorts of things, anyway)