I didn't once have a baby as a teenager.

Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down....actually it doesn't go anything like that and they are the words of the Fresh Prince who I certainly am not as I have a) never been to Bel Air and b) never rapped a theme tune about my experiences there. That's really the only difference between Will Smith and I.

If you thought the differences ended there you are wrong, both Will Smith and I both avoided the perils of Teenage pregnancy, as he is a man I can probably assume he never has been pregnant (although do scientologists believe that too?). The blog was never meant to be about Will Smith or Scientology, it was meant to be about Buses. Wow that was a tangent that I took there but I did crowbar in a teenage pregnancy reference which will all become clear in a few sentences time.

AWwwwwww Here it goes........ (the words of the prophet Coolio at the start of Keanan and Kel)

A few weeks ago when I went home for the weekend I went to catch the bus into town, the journey in was no unusual one. The idiots at the back playing what can only be described as crap and the old ladies sat at the front. The journey home opened up my eyes to a whole new form of entertainment when I saw something incredible.


As you can see this is a image of the back of the drivers little booth thing on the bus with a lovely stop button and sign telling you to turn your music down (obviously the idiots at the back of the bus cant read). The incredible thing I saw though was the poster entitled Double Trouble. There is your cue to click on the image and look closer.

Did you look? It would seem that in Walsall they have decided to stop just trying to discourage teenagers from having babies and to instead focus on stopping teenagers from having two babies. Is it that bad that the NHS there have decided that it is inevitable? Surely they should be trying to prevent it happening just once. Sure some teenagers can prove themselves to be good parents but by judging books by their cover and those who were on the bus I think stopping before one at the age of 15 and 16 is good enough. I got all the way through my teenage life in Walsall without inevitably having one ginger baby, let alone another that is its exact mirror image.

I also feel this poster is Ginger-ist. Are they purposefully trying to encourage the stereotype that red headed kids are more trouble than the blonde ones and the brunette ones. A bad copy and past of two blonde kids probably wouldn't have gone under that head line, they would probably be promoting it then rather than discouraging it.

Imagine growing up to find out that as a baby you were the face of twins in an unwanted baby campaign run by the NHS. Mom you had better not be hiding anything like that from me!!

Ginger Babies and Poster Campaigns,

t xx

TV Shaped Shoes.

This time round we are doing TV and from looking at the lists there is no way there will be responses as soon as last nights. Not just TV, specifically TV that we like but the other has never watched. It was freaking difficult though because we both seem to watch the same things, maybe less so for Rachel because I lack an ability to stick with programmes further than 10 minutes most of the time unless I really like them. I look forward to it though.

So here goes a list of programmes and an episode I have chosen from each, not necessarily my favourite episode but sometimes the easiest to explain. Sometimes episodes become favourites on their ability to grow on previous things in series. I have put a likkle description of what the hell the programme is about.


1. Doctor Who.
You live in Cardiff and you have never seen it, that's almost tragic. Ok, I give in it might just be tragic in the context of me who loves it. Not quite as much as some people but I do. Am I right to presume people know about the Tardis (bigger inside, travels through time and space) and the Doctor (also travels through time and space on board the tardis). He has a companion who he takes along with him, this time its Martha (played by the woman off Law and Order apparently) although we don't really tend to see much of her. I think that's all you really need to know about that for this episode as this one is based more on one off characters. Also in this, try and spot places that you know.

Series 3, Episode 10 Blink.

2. Nighty Night.
Rather than try and explain this you are just getting the first episode deary. Its dark, its funny, its brilliant. Tip for watching is stick with it, its not Little Britain and you wont be laughing out loud from the outset but as you get used to it, it gets funnier. I think.

Series 1, Episode 1.

3. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
You know when you recommend something and you know that its either going to go down really well or the other person is going to hate it, well this one is very much like that. I don't want to say too much, I will get Garth do the talking for me. Let me just say now that this programme has some of the best writing and special effects I have ever seen in a medical drama. Also the theme tune is amazing, I think I might even make it my ringtone.

Series 1, Episode 5 Scotch Mist.

4. Torchwood.
Right we are heading back to 'post 2005 time travel drama' but without the time travel. Torchwood is set in Cardiff as there is a rift in time and space there which aliens and technology can come through. Torchwood go round collecting the things 'to arm themselves for the 21st century because that when everything changes" apparently. Things you need to know, Captain Jack (The Barrowman) is in charge, he used to travel around with The Doctor but doesn't anymore. Gwen (welsh, dark hair) has a boyfriend called Rhys but she is having an affair with Owen (sounds like Alfred in batman). Lisa was Ianto's (the welsh bloke) girlfriend until she got turned into a Cyberwoman (like the shiny cyberman from the lecture the other day but with boobs) but Torchwood killed her, also him and Jack have something going on. I think that's it.

Series 1, Episode 6, Countrycide.

5. Green Wing.
Hospital based programme again. First episode again. I got bored of explaining can you tell.

Series 1, Episode 1, Caroline's First Day.


There we go Rachel, get watching. I hope you enjoy!!

Television and New Things,

t xx

The Mixtape.

This was a challenge, I have been stuck in my strange musical ways for far too long. Rachel's shoes were calling to me and I had no choice but to go investigate what the list she had presented to me held in store. The list was as follows......

1. Jennifer Love Hewit- Barenaked
2. Lucie Silvas- What your made of
3. Tyler Hilton/ Bethany- When the Stars go blue
4. Boys like Girls- Thunder
5. James Morrison- This Boy
6. Jennifer Lopez- Lets get loud
7. Jon Mclaughlin- Beautiful Disaster
8. Matchbox 20- How far we've come
9. Missy Higgins- Scar
10. Taking Back Sunday- Cute without the e
11. The Wreckers- The Good Kind

All open minded and filled with nervous musical energy I proceeded to start the list. As well all know I am known for being extremely open minded when it comes to music, it goes alongside my other talents of being extremely punctual, organised and my ability to play the cello while riding a unicycle and reciting the words of Wordsworth. I really tried though, I put all my efforts into not judging it by what I already listen to, my current taste, how will I grow as a person if I do that.

So join me on a magical musical journey........

1. Jennifer Love Hewit- Barenaked - I try not to live in a world of musical ignorance but until I saw her name on the playlist I hadn't realised that she sang, let alone that she could sing. I just saw her as the woman in the awful Garfield film but I'm not meant to be writing about Garfield. My notes claim that I like the bit where it goes "down down down". I hope that exists in the song and I wasn't just writing that for comical factors. I did like it though.


2. Lucie Silvas- What your made of - This is one of those songs in which I am completely unaware that I have heard before until it gets to the chorus and I realise that I can quite happily sing along to it and I know all the words. Was it on the radio a lot? It says a lot for it being quite catchy.

3. Tyler Hilton/ Bethany- When the Stars go blue - I saw the title of the song and the singer and instantly only saw the words Stars and Hilton, which instantly reminded me to the classic Stars are Blind by Paris Hilton. I think I may have been disappointed in the song because it wasn't this. I think it was Tyler's fault. Also wikipedia informs be he was in the videos for Taylor Swift's Teardrops on my Guitar, a song which has been greatly missed in this list.

4. Boys like Girls- Thunder - I actually began my notes with "I don't think that his voice will be the soundtrack of my summer" but then after that I put fairly positive things. I think it grew on me as I was listening, I reckon it would be good live, good to sing loudly along to.

5. James Morrison- This Boy - I think for some reason the idea that I don't like James Morrisson has come from somewhere, did I say something about him in the past? This was actually my favourite out of the lot, I like his voice and I feel that I could happily listen to his album at some point.

6. Jennifer Lopez- Lets get loud - I think J-Lo, I think Jenny from the block not Latin, when did this happen? It sounds like it belongs on the credits for a film. I don't think I have owt else to say.

7. Jon Mclaughlin- Beautiful Disaster - I felt it was a bit generic, sorry! Like James Morrison but not as interesting.

8. Matchbox 20- How far we've come - Just when you thought the long reviews had ended here comes another story. I had to search this on the youtube and the version that I found happened to be a video that someone had made with the song in the background. The video was penguins with speech bubbles with the lyrics in it. I liked this song but was it the penguins influencing me.

9. Missy Higgins- Scar - All I wrote about this song was I likes the funky piano bits. I couldn't think of anything else.

10. Taking Back Sunday- Cute without the e - I already knew this song before it was on the list of recommendations, it reminds me of the summer in Birmingham oasis, a reference you are unlikely to get unless you have ever been there. It goes in the category of socially acceptable emo music, alongside elements of MCR and Fall out Boy, I like socially acceptable emo.

11. The Wreckers- The Good Kind - I had originally wrote on this 'Like Michelle Branch but painful', I was then informed by Rachel that it was Michelle Branch (my good friend musical ignorance strikes again) , now I don't quite feel that I can just put painful as my review but I wasn't too keen on it, I wouldn't go as far as painful I have heard worse.


Right that was the end of my musical reviews for Rachel, I didn't do too badly did I? I looked at your reviews before posting them and I feel I may have rambled a bit, sorry!

Apparently next time we have TV programmes. I look forward to it.

Reviews and Musical Ignorance,

t xx

Shoes.

This blog has nowt to do with actual shoes, but it does kind of have something to do with being in my shoes. Today Rachel and I decided to try being each other, not literally but through recommendations of stuff we like. Stuff being a general term for well all sorts of things, films, tv, songs.

Lets just say we have different tastes in things and completely different shoe sizes so this could be interesting.

Here be a link to Rachel's post which is far more eloquent than mine and explains things in more detail.

The first item in the generalisation of 'Stuff' we decided on was a 'mixtape' of sort although no cassette tapes were harmed during the process as a) I haven't seen a cassette tape in quite a long time and b)It seemed easier to do it using technology things. The blog is the new mixtape. On the mixtape we put 10 songs we liked, or just made us smile that we thought the other might not have heard before (sorry Rachel if you have).

So here goes, prepare to try on my ill fitting shoes.

1. Final Fantasy - Adventure.exe
2. Arcade Fire - Antichrist Television Blues
3. Patrick Wolf - Tristan
4. Mystery Jets - Two doors down
5. Robots in Disguise - Arguments
6. Beirut - Elephant Gun
7. Maccabees - Toothpaste kisses
8. Larrikin Love - Edwould
9. Placebo - This Picture
10. Iamx - Spit it out
11. Rufus Wainwright - Calafornia (surely if Rachel gets 11, so do I. Thought I would throw off the musical taste there with a little bit of the Wainwright)

If you survive that list Rachel you deserve a prize!

Good Luck and Enjoy!

Music and Shoes,

T xx

Becky Taylor.

I go to the cinema a lot. What can I say? I like films but the thing I'm not overly keen on is the adverts before the film. I understand how these things work and why we have to have them but do we just have to keep having the same ones over and over again, mix it up a bit. I don't think I have been to the cinema in the last few years without seeing those stupid orange movies advert. I am usually there on a wednesday and I am pretty sure that alongside me everyone else there has used orange wednesday to buy their tickets so why do they feel the need to inform me. If I hadn't used it I would be pretty gutted to have paid full price while my orange phone sits in my bag and I watch an advert about how much cheaper it could have been.

One of my favourite adverts of recent times has been the NHS Smoke Free campaigns. I say favourite but I only mean it if the meaning of 'favourite' has been changed to mean that it really annoys me and I am pretty sick of it. Here it is in case you have been fortunate to miss it, I am not spending my misery of seeing at again alone.

The line that sticks out to me is "I'm not scared of Becky Taylor". The reason it sticks out is because Becky Taylor petrifies me, just look at her scary face. I could be seeing a horror film at the cinema and the film wouldn't be the scariest thing I would see. Its not an insult to the small girl who is playing the role of Becky Taylor but instead everything she stands for. I reckon Becky Taylor would be the type of child who carries a knife and is into underage drinking. She poses a much more immediate threat to the other child than her parent smoking does. If anything the parent smoking is an unessacary disctraction to Becky Taylor's real plan, its not immediate so while the child is preoccupied with this scare mongered worry (I reckon Becky Taylor gave the mom the fags in the first place) Becky is just waiting in that isolated alley way ready to pounce.

Over active imagination? Possibly. I'm not risking it though. Thank you NHS for flagging this up to me. Just like the advert on the bus about ginger children (Thats will probably be my next blog).

NHS and Knife Crime,

t xx

A Quest.

The last few weeks I have found myself getting into music again. I was into music before, but if it is at all possible more into it. I blame the reappearance of Mr Patrick Wolf in my musical life, it was there before but nothing was new. Things that I had listened to a hundred times before, never getting old or irrelevant just repeating. The upcoming release of a new album though means new sounds.I don't think there are many bands out there that genuinely change their sound between their albums but this one seems to be about to do that, not completely changing but definitely changing its focus. Gone is Magic Position Pop Patrick back is Dark Electronic Patrick.

Another reason for the sudden relighting of my love for music is the sunshine. I'm not keen on 'good' weather, I much prefer it when the clouds are out and its blustery, rainy and there are storms, its just more interesting than when there is the standard of the sun is shining and it is warm. It doesn't help that I have a wardrobe with the colour scheme that reflects the bad weather times. The last week we had sunshine, its like a novelty round here but yesterday I was glad to see that the grey skies had come back. But how does this relate to music? Well much like my wardrobe I have a Mp3 player which reflects bad weather, songs that sound better when heard in the rain or when the leaves are falling off trees. Albums like that seem to have staying power in my musical collection but the ones that go with the sun shining brightly seem to come and go. Last year it was the turn of Vampire Weekend and Born Ruffians but when I listened to them last week it just wasn't the same, to be honest they were pretty boring. This has lead me to a new quest, finding an album for the summer. I have no idea where to look because all my usual locations lead me to things similar to the rest of my autumn/winter albums and bands. I already know that the new Patrick Wolf album wont be an summer album despite it being released in June, same goes for Placebo. Looks like I might have to start listening to music on the radio again, picking up music magazines, reading music blogs and going to gigs.

So let the quest for summer music begin. Any suggestions?

Wolves and Sunshine,

t xx

Note: What have I been listening to?