S is for... Sex for Scholarship.


JESUS CHRIST! Have you guys seen the Independent investigation into the website trading university scholarships for sex?

When I was first told about this website (SponsorAScholar.co.uk) - where students are being offered up to £15,000 a year to cover their tuition fees in exchange for sex with a stranger - I was firstly like "Jeez, if a girl wants to sleep with a man for money, just let her already!! It's her choice.", and secondly I was like "Why wasn't this an available option when I was at uni?!". I'M JOKING.

W is for... Women and Casual Sex

So, the much talked about results of my casual sex poll are in! Take a look...



I had a really good response from everyone and I'm really grateful so many people participated in this!! Thank you :D. Definitely something I will consider doing again in the future.

The only problem is that it's hardly unanimous, is it?! Like, I can't really draw a determined conclusion from this set of results. But I kind of think it highlights a key point - some women can have casual, no strings attached (NSA) sex, and some women can't. Let's discuss...

C is for... Casual Sex Poll! (GIRLS ONLY)

Hi guys,

Sorry I've been a bit slack with blogging of late - I can assure you that I'm in the process of doing two vlogs, so they're on their way!

In the meantime girls, I need your help!! I've had a request to do a post on womens' ability to have casual sex WITHOUT feelings. And with the view of delivering an accurate response to this, I'm really hoping you'll help me out by being REALLY honest and letting me know whether it has been possible for you to have COMPLETELY no strings attached sex in the past by answering my poll!?

I'd be really grateful!!

I'm going to run this for about a week and publish the results in the post next week!

Thanks in advance!

L.

H is for... Happy Slut Day Halloween!



My Facebook timeline has quite literally been a stream of soft porn for the past few days, and thankfully it's only set to get worse..! I mean, it's Halloween! The time when the Slut Competition begins and everyone is given a free pass to a good old perv. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining; it makes for a great show! And girls, you really have excelled yourselves this year! Or maybe I've just befriended more sluts...

B is for... Begging For Body Parts.

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I didn't know (sorry if you did), but there's actually a website in the U.S that allows people who need a kidney to plead directly for a donor online.... Bloody Americans, right!? Wrong. The website is also in the UK!

So the website (www.matchingdonors.co.uk) puts people seeking organ transplants in direct contact with potential living donors for a registration fee. An initial review by the UK Human Tissue Authority said that the website charged up to £375 for potential organ recipients to register!

J is for... Jimmy and Aunty


The total confirmed count of Savile's victims as I write this is approximately 300. Just think about that for a minute - three hundred.

I think the worst part is obviously the child abuse, but secondary to that there were plenty of clues that BBC TV and radio presenter sexually abused girls throughout his career — and by "clues," I mean multiple allegations — and no one dared challenge him.

T is for... Twitter's Social Suicide.


Twitter's finally done it then... Followed through with their threats of geographical censorship by blocking users in Germany from viewing the tweets of Besseres Hannover, a group of neo-Nazis. This is the first time Twitter has ever censored an account, and you can be sure there will be activist uproars about the death of free speech.

B is for... Benners: Episode 4

Hi Guys,

It's that time again (good for a Friday!) where I hand you over to the hilarious Benners; filling you in on the most intimate details of his travelling experiences ;]. Here he continues his story in Cancun... Enjoy!

EP 4 – Cancun, Mexico: “The Meaning Of 'Fun' And What It Takes To Have Some...”




I battled with myself on a Monday afternoon at the beach near my hotel. “Was I having fun?” I asked myself continuously. The answer: I don't know. What is 'fun'? I guess it depends who you are. Some people find eating a large tub of Haagen Dazs a real treat, others really enjoy skateboarding, others get a kick out of hearing themselves speaking; but are we always having fun doing these activities? Is it fun when you’re sat getting a coronary heart bypass because you’re an obese man, meant to be enjoying the prime of his life, only you ate too much ice-cream? Is it fun, I mean, constantly fun skateboarding? Never one day were you just think, 'Man, I can't be fucked today. I'm going home to watch Simpsons.' Never a single moment where you've realised you are actually talking so much you are boring people and you have to stop and take a quick reality check?

'Fun' for me ultimately depends on how you feel and whom you are with, for example: You buy your girlfriend some Haagen Dazs, take it over to her place and eat it with her, watching a movie you hate but deal with, and then later she calls you 'her Daddy' and it's all smiles – that sounds fun? You had fun right? Now imagine you buy that same cookie-dough ice-cream but you eat it alone, in your room, depressed because your girlfriend gave Mental Dave a hand-job and you couldn't find a spoon because you’re a fucking loser so you had to lick, suck and slurp the whole sub-temperature treat out of the container like a knob. That's not fun at all.

Or you go skateboarding with all your friends at your favourite spot, the weather is amazing, everyone is stoked, you land a new trick, catching the eye of an emo girl who takes you round the back of the aquarium for a blow-job, and it's amazing – that’s a fun, pleasurable day, one I'm pleased to say I did experience during my youth. On the more painful end of the spectrum, imagine you go skateboarding but none of your friends turn up ‘cause they aren't your friends at all – they think you're a dick. You turn up, approach the staircase at full speed but then some chavs appear out of nowhere, give you a fucking good kickin', take all your shit and draw a cock on your head in permanent marker. That's not much fun. We don't enjoy this.

The only exception to the 'how you feel and whom you are with' rule is if you add mind-altering substances in to the mix. If you were drunk during the 'kickin' or the 'depressed ice-cream' moments, you were probably still having a shit time, but it hurt less; much less. So after dragging my ass off the beach, wiping the tears off of the photo album my wonderful sister took the time to make me, and drinking a small bottle of tequila alone in my room at the hotel, I went out and I was not coming home until I had fun – my kinda fun...

READ MORE

R is for... Response to Sam Wheatley.

Here I am, carrying on the discussion about science and religion :]

Yeah, kindly ignore the part where I get distracted... Was going to re-do it, but you know, didn't want it to get too "stagey"!:



SAM WHEATLEY'S VIDEO

L.

F is for... Fun(damentalist Christian Exorcism)!


Fundamentalist Christian exorcism? Yeah, sounds really GOOD!

Naat.

This is something that I wasn’t actually aware really happened. But it does. It does happen. And just like the Fundamentalist Christians we know and love, they are also brainwashing their children to partake in such activities as well. Activities which have been acitvely condemned even by members of the Christian Church itself...

Watch this video:

H is for... Heil Hitler!

Errm, so I'm not sure everyone (or anyone) is going to be interested in this post, but I was, and no one wants to talk to me about it, so you'll have to just put up with this one I think. Humour me?!

Have you seen this shop yet?!

S is for... Sam Wheatley's Vlog Rebuttal.

It is with great pleasure (sort of) that I introduce you guys to Sam Wheatley (@samuelwheatfree). Our friendship actually originated on Twitter (through some shameless bullying on his part), and I subsequently began listening to his radio show, aptly named The Sam Wheatley Show, on a Thursday night... This show has unfortunately come to an end now, but he's set to be back on the radio again doing four shows and a Christmas Special from the 28th October. Follow him on Twitter if you're interested - funny guy.

Anyway, without me going on too much, Sam has done a response video to my first vlog about religion. It's cool when people get involved, and I think you guys will rate what he has to say, so here you go...


Looking forward, as always, to hearing your thoughts! :]

L.

I is for... Immunising Celebrity Stupidity.


Celebrities are dangerous. Blanket statement, sure. But if it's not Rihanna glamorising domestic violence, it is Professor Green deeming bulimia nervosa as an "intelligent eating disorder". The most recent addition to this dangerous new group of celebrities who talk avidly about topics they have no knowledge of is Rob Schneider, who has taken to advising against vaccinations...

B is for... Benners: Episode 3.

Over to Benners again for you today folks; which is a massive Godsend, as I have dislocated my shoulder and typing has become somewhat inconvenient...

Enjoy! It's a good one! :D...

EP3 'The Bad Burrito and My Introduction to Moral Dilemmas.'

The flight from Vancouver to Mexico was a relatively straightforward affair, if you don't include the fact I got delayed at Houston Airport for ten hours. I can think of worse airports to be stranded at, mainly because during the course of this trip I've been stranded at worse airports. Houston on the other hand, had plenty of bars and eateries and I was hungry and I love booze, so overall it could have been worse. Plus a girl I know sent me a picture of her vagina, so that was nice. Also the delay I faced meant I got to bump myself up to Business Class for about $40 and was able to sit out the remaining three hours of the journey in relative bliss, drinking wine and pondering my tactics for the next couple weeks. My ponderings however didn't mean I failed to notice the businessman sat next to me, looking over thinking “What the fuck is he doing here?” constantly, and I'm pleased to inform, I took great pleasure from it.

J is for... Jesus Got Laid!

Ok, I tried to ignore it, but people are still going on about it... People are still asking the question: "Did that mythological character Jesus really have a wife?!", because of this papyrus...



Now, I'm going to begin by telling you all simply: I dislike religious historians. I can’t for the life of me fathom how any of them are able to take their profession seriously considering they have so much invested in their beliefs. I mean, they're blatantly not going to be willing to question the historical accuracy of their own God. And even if they are, can we trust that their ridiculously subjective views wouldn't make it impossible for them to be objective?!

G is for... "God Told Me To Rape Your Daughter, Mate."

Err.. yeah, my cult research took a turn for the sinister yesterday, and I've realised they're not actually that funny anymore... :/

This is a small case study on the Church of the First Born and General Assembly of Heaven (great name, sure).


So, nine months after their teenage son died of an infection from a burst appendix, a couple from Creswell who chose prayer over medical care for their son, admitted criminal responsibility for his death.

Russel and Brandi Bellew each pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court to charges of criminally negligent homicide, as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

B is for... Benners: Episode 2

It is that time of the week where I hand you over to the talented Benners, folks! Enjoy... :]


EP2 'Vancouver and the Three Sea-Shells Complex (Demolition Man).'




Before I begin, here is a bit of background information on me, Benners: I don't like talking about myself much if I'm being totally honest, which I know must seem like total hypocrisy given I'm writing about my travels in this blog and indeed, planning to talk about myself for the next few paragraphs exclusively; but I assure you, I do this firstly because I've been asked to, and secondly because, truth be told, I feel a little homesick (mainly due to the language barrier I'm currently experiencing) and writing gives me a chance to connect with friends both old and new.

I is for... "I'd Let Chris Brown Beat Me"

Chris Brown's tattoo. Where to start... I figure you've all seen it already, but if not, here you go:



When I first saw it, I sort of dismissed it as I have no respect for him (or Rihanna, but I'll come to that), as far as I was concerned it was just another outrageous publicity stunt that I had to time for. But then I stumbled across a really interesting article on it by American blogger Amanda Marcotte. I think you guys should read the whole thing, but it really made me stop and think and played on my mind quite a lot (which I don't ever get from any celeb culture articles), so I'm going to go into it here...

You all know that Chris Brown beat up Rihanna when they were dating, I won't focus on the story... No doubt you've all seen this picture:


So Amanda Marcotte reflects in her article my thoughts exactly: that this tattoo is Chris Brown's way of publicly bragging about what he did.

"Men who beat and rape women want to feel powerful. They want to feel manly. And because hitting women and raping women makes them feel these things, they want to brag about it… A tattoo commemorating beating down your girlfriend is a trophy."

H is for... How to Start Your Cult

I just wanted to start by saying thanks to all of you guys who have showed so much support to Benners ;]. I have had to change his name to, you know, protect his professional identity. A future employer wouldn't have to Google very hard to expose any of his darkest secrets, so we feel it's better to be safe than, well, really sorry...

But yeah, his post went down super well! I think I've given him enough of the spotlight now though; I'm getting all needy for your attention. so I'm back with this post for you guys...

I have spent a lot of time recently indulging the hermit and the geek in me. By which I mean I have spent a lot of time indoors on my laptop and iPad watching videos on atheism, UFOs and back-to-back episodes of Arrested Development. This isn't very cool, and I probably shouldn't share things like this so publicly - but you know what? I'm alright about that...

I'm ok about it because I have learnt some pretty cool things. On of these things, I am going to be kind enough to share with you.

As well as all of the riveting activities listed above, I also spent a lot of time Googling weird cults, and came across some great ones! I won't share them all with you because they're probably no weirder than Scientology, and I've already covered that... But this one was a personal favourite:



The Manson "Family"

So there was this guy called Charles Manson, who learned to play guitar in prison and formed his infamous "Family" of criminals in 1968. Manson insisted that an apocalyptic race war between whites and blacks would occur in 1969, after which the commune would rule the new world. When it didn't happen, he sent his followers on a string of murders to "show blacks how to do it," but, Manson just selected victims who were those who had not helped him with his music career. Brilliant!

I is for... INTRODUCING BENNERS

It is with great pleasure folks, that I introduce to you one of my dearest friends, Ross. Here he is!:


Ross is going to be doing a whole series of guest posts for me - hence why I have given him his own page up there ^.

Ross has completed a TEFL course and has gone away for a year to travel Canada and America and do some teaching... Sounds pretty normal. Thing is, it's Ross. And those of you who know Ross will know that it is in his nature to get himself into some of the most hilarious situations ever. Those of you who don't know Ross... be prepared to laugh a lot, and potentially be quite disgusted at some of his stories!!

Anyway, really hope you guys like these weekly interlude guest posts from Ross as much as I know I am going to! Apologies in advance for his use of profanity and graphic metaphor... You will grow to love it ;].

D is for... DNC Run-Down.



Really wanted to call this post "Run DNC", but it wasn't in keeping with my "R is for... RNC Run-Down" post, and I clearly had no forethought when writing that, so this point is now a little redundant... But just so you know- I did try and get a good pun in there (as always).

Sooooo, where to start?! I think the best way to describe how I feel about last week's convention is "deflated". But I kind of expected that. In a similar vein to my RNC post, I am going to talk about ten things I learned from the DNC - the title of which is as follows: "We're your bezzie mates!! <3"...

Here are ten things the Democrats are sure you'll have in common...

N is for... “No means yes!“

This weekend I've mainly just found myself talking. A lot. I don't know what it is, maybe something in the air - but I haven't been able to have one regular conversation in two days. Everytime I've spoken to someone it's escalated into a massive deep-and-meaningful.

I went to a "BBQ" yesterday afternoon, which wasn't so much a BBQ, as just a gathering of people getting wasted in a barn... Having a substantial hangover (cheers @vintage_pockets), I was force-fed (yeah, right) a bloody Mary to get back to normal. It worked, and started the chat flow once more.

A is for... A Little Porn Perspective.



Well, well, well... Yesterday I found myself tackling the age-old porn debate...

Before you start... No. My research did not (unfortunately) involve hours of extensive porn viewing. Much to my dismay - there is actually quite a lot of intellectual chat going on about this...

The reason for doing this post is partially because of the GOP, I am not going to lie to you - but also partially after hearing some rather negative views just generally towards porn of late. So, without further a-do, here we go...

P is for... Penis-Sucking Jews (literally)

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This is a subject I wasn't going to cover; if I'm honest, because I didn't know if I could handle it. But it's been brought to my attention in the news again this week and upon reflection, I think it's good to bring this kind of religious practice to people's attention. Even if just one of you didn't know about this and is made aware by me doing this blog post- I will consider it a success.

R is for... RNC Run-Down.

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Probably wasn't going to ignore it, was I?! So Thursday saw the end of the Republican National Convention (RNC) 2012, probably with the strippers of Tampa, Florida seeing a massive rise in tips (I don't suppose the organisers were aware that Tampa is one of America's biggest cities for strip clubs?), but who's stereotyping?! I've taken the past few days to process my thoughts about the convention, and have collated my top ten favourite things I learnt from the RNC! Here we go...

C is for... Cheat Chat.


Very good friend of mine's been cheated on recently. We had a good "Cheat Chat" the other day. I thought I'd cover it today (with their encouragement) to step away from politics and religion for a post. More of an opinion post for a Friday read. Infidelity seems to be a hot topic at the moment, everyone's talking about it- so I've been doing some sleuthing.

Disclaimer: I'd like to make it very clear that nothing I say in this post is in any way personal (unless otherwise stated), nor does it have any bearing on my previous relationships (I am still on speaking terms with all of my ex's, and intend to keep it that way, thank you very much). I will be including stories about people I know from conversations I've had this week. Names will be made up. Don't get mad. You all offered this information up freely... ;] (soz).

N is for... Not a Virgin?! You Dirty Shoe!


So, if this bank holiday weekend has taught me anything, it is that I do not have things as figured out as I probably should have... BUT I think I can be sure of one thing, and that is this: RELIGION AND EDUCATION SHOULD NEVER MIX.

B is for... Bribing Skag 'Eads.



Project Prevention are an American based charity who I came across a couple of years ago when I used to torture myself by watching the BBC's "The Big Questions" on a Sunday morning. Something I have susequently stopped doing, in a bid to stop deliberately upsetting myself...

Anyway, I got into a debate on the subject with a close friend of mine last night, so thought I would share it with you guys to see what you make of it:

In a nutshell, Project Prevention give money to crack 'eads, skag 'eads and any other drug based 'eads, in exchange for their sterilisation. Yes, that's right, so they can't reproduce.

B is for... "Bad Sexual Etiquette"


Gorgeous Galloway (pictured above) has (in a roundabout way) done me a favour this week; he has brought back to my attention the whole Assange saga. I think this post is actually long overdue, but I am very glad of the excuse to be able to do it now, so here we go...

L is for... Legitimate vs Illegitimate Rape (according to Todd Akin)

Once again I find myself dispairing over American Republicans (I'm mildly confident this will cease come December, but can't promise anything I'm afraid)...

I'm going to start diplomatically by saying I do understand the pro-life stance. I don't believe that having an abortion should be seen as a method of birth control for those unwilling to take responsibility for their actions; being stupid enough not to have some forethought before they engage in unprotected sexual activity. HOWEVER, I most definitely do NOT think that abortion should be illegal.

A is for... Abercrombie and FITch (are you hot enough?)

Backing off from religion on this Holy day... Thought I'd take it back to the easy-read for a Sunday. Thought I'd share my thoughts (and some information on the distinctive hiring practices) of Abercrombie and Fitch.

So I just saw these new tees that Abercrombie & Fitch have released...

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P is for... Pussy Riot Rant.



I've waited quite a few weeks to do this blog post; partly because I wanted to wait and see what happened leading up to the trial, but also partly because I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole thing. I haven't even tweeted about it.

M is for... Mitt is (the) Sh*t.

Who else hates Mitt Romney?!

It seems like every day I hear something else absolutely ludicrous about him, and it's finally got to me! I have been planning a post on him for AGES as no one I know really cares enough to talk to me about it, and I feel if I leave it any longer I may implode. Please humour me; I'm worried for my mental health.

You all know who he is? The next wannabe Republican president of America.

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D is for... Dick-fil-A

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So the whole Chick-fil-A scandal is still getting people talking, huh? I thought I'd kind of missed the boat on this one after taking some time out in the home-land Devon last week, but I'm ever so pleased to have come back to find out more ridiculous accusations against the company!

S is for... Swooning over James Holmes

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Err... yeah, GOOD.

Just a quick one to voice my disbelief. So girls everywhere are declaring their love for Batman cinema shooter James Holmes?! Yeah, sounds feasible.

Check this out:


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Astounding!

"Wow, look at that murderer's face! Isn't his bone structure something else..."

Totally, totally what I was thinking... NOT.

S is for... Selfish Reproduction?

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Read a horrible article yesterday from the New York Times, who have run a piece on China's one-child policy, featuring the story of Pan Chunyan who was kidnapped and forced into having an abortion by officials.

According to the 2010 national census, the average birthrate for a Chinese household is 1.181. The number is lower in cities and higher in rural areas. There are around 22 ways in which parents can get around the one-child rule- rural couples and ethnic minorities are allowed to have more kids, for example. But experts say the strict quota "remains among the so-called one-veto criteria for promotion and is about as significant a goal as maintaining stability or growing the local economy," and that the orders come from higher up in the government. Even when parents are ready to pay the $7,200 fine a third child warrants, officials will pressure or force mothers to have abortions to make sure "targets are met."

Horrid.

However, it did get me thinking about my own issues with the population problem we are currently facing. As a reductionist I am guilty of over-thinking and over-simplifying things. As a worrier, my reductionist perspective has been known to get the better of me, and I often find myself awake at night worrying about global issues. One thing I spend more and more time thinking about is whether, in the future, I could ever even justify having children? Let me explain...

P is for... Princess Culture.

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My inspiration for this post actually began at an "after party" of sorts in the early hours of Sunday morning. This "after party" was at the flat that I used to live in actually, and consisted of a lot of heavy drinking and partying, followed by a LOT of deep and meaningfuls in the kitchen... Classic... And it was one of these deep and meaningful conversations in particular that got me thinking...

N is for... "Nessie" vs Evolution.

So since my post on Christians vs Cosmpolitan magazine I have recieved quite a lot of constructive emails from people about other religious topics to consider for future posts (after the hate mail subsided, that is). Although I have been looking into them as and when I've had a moment, I've tended to reply saying thank you very much, but that I didn't want my blog to turn into a atheist debate forum. It's not in my interests to focus solely on religion and limit my readership as a result.

B is for... Buffet at the end of the catwalk.

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Wahey! A practically naked girl! You can all breathe a sigh of relief that I am no longer talking about science. Soz about that.

H is for.... Higgs Boson!

How could I not?

I'm not going to get all bogged down in science in this post, as much as it would reflect my entire day today. I have been asked a couple of times throughout the day to "calm down" and explain "simply" what it all means (when I have been getting over-excited etc.), so it would seem that not everyone has a shared level of interest in this subject. With that in mind, I won't be concerned if this leaves a lot of my readership disinterested. I understand that it's probably a bit weird that I'm so into stuff like this.

Anyway, I think I'm going to explain it all as simply as I can (as Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."), after which I will mention what it means in terms of its future implications. I feel like I have to do this, as today is such a monumental day for physics and I want to document my reaction, so ten years from now, when this is completely old news, I can look back with nostalgia and say things like "If only I'd known then what I know now....".

So here we go, the Lucie Guide to Finding the God Particle...

The Large Hadron Collider is something which has been a source of much excitement and disappointment for me. When it was first built back in 2008, it was around the time that I'd firmly established myself as an agnostic atheist and had really started to become interested in science. The LHC felt like an exciting step in filling the gaps of scientific knowledge I so desperately sought. But when there were problems with the cooling system, I was a little disheartened, especially as it then took a whole year to get it working again, and it wasn't actually until March 2010 that the first collision occured. I guess it was a bit of an anti-climax for me, but I still never lost hope in it! I'm glad I didn't.

I suppose an explanation of the LHC is necessary as the first level of understanding...

T is for... TomKat's Scientology-Scam Marriage.

This is one of those funny posts where my conspiracy blogging mind meets my topical blogging mind. This post is about how, according to Scientology insiders, Katie Holmes' marriage to Tom Cruise was in fact merely a carefully constructed Scientology contract. And now the contract is up, resulting in their divorce and some tricky decisions for Suri's religious future. I'm sure you've heard? But if you haven't, I know it sounds elaborate; I can only explain what I've heard...

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Those of you who have ever heard my rant on Scientology, I would like to apologise to you- you may ignore these next few paragraphs. Because, if there's one thing I'm less open to tolerating than extreme Christianity, it's Scientology.

For those of you who aren't so clued up on the world of Scientology- I will keep this brief: it's a scam. No, ok, I'm being impertinant (again), here are the facts...

L is for... Legalising prostitution.

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Heavy topic! And not one that can include a lot of pictures really, so sorry about the heavy amount of text.

This one was actually another request from Gabby, who I'm highly suspicious, likes to know stuff, but prefers someone else to do the research? She's a snakey one, but it suits me. I love reading. So here you are Gabs: My opinion on the legalisation of prostitution in the UK. This one's for you.

F is for... Friday Feminism Fun!

So since I've been getting pretty heavy recently, I thought I'd tone it dowwwn a bit and do a fun post about celebrities without make-up on. Ok so I'm still kind of covering controversy- mainly in the face of feminism, but I like to think it more light-hearted than American politics and religion. Please correct me if I'm wrong... ;)

**WARNING: Post contains pictures of my hungover face without ANY make-up**

P is for... Pistol whipping nuns.

Feeling in a better mood now folks! You'll be pleased to know?!

Thought I'd get on with another post to try and make you all forget about the grouchiness of the last one... And since I've recently covered religion- I thought, why not go all out? So now I'm covering religion AND politics. American politics! Eeeeep! I am feeling brave.

I mean, it's all pretty relevant, what with the next presidential election coming up in November, and all this talk on policy and protests; my two favourite blogging subjects!

For this post, I am looking at the Republicans. Nuns and Republicans actually. What a combo! It's a tale of what happens when right-wing politics rubs extreme Catholicism up the wrong way. Potent! (Couldn't resist a sexual innuendo there!)

F is for... Fifty Shades of Grey.

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I'm not sure I even need to introduce these books as they seem to be ALL EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT.

But for those of you who may not yet be aware, the Fifty Shades trilogy is the erotic breakout series of the digital download revolution, written by Erika Leonard James. It's revolutionary, as it has proved that anyone can take up writing on the internet from the comfort of their own home, build their popularity, then get their work properly published, as a novel, and downloaded on to Kindles and Kobos. It originally evolved through online slash/fic - fan-published erotic writing; you know, in that creepy place on the internet where things happen such as Ron Weasley and Harry Potter discovering their real feelings for one another etc. James is a massive fan of the Twilight series written by Stephenie Meyer, which inspired this series.

C is for... Christians vs Cosmopolitan.

For this post I am taking a look at the stand that Victoria Hearst is making against Cosmopolitan Magazine. This post does contain my opinions on religion, so please bear in mind that any opinions are just my own and should be taken at face value, with a pinch of salt. This post took me a while to write, because although I am practicing fearless blogging, I am also aware that I need to be careful of my tone surrounding sensitive subjects such as religion. Please email me if you have any problems with the content. I'm always open to feedback on how to improve.


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S is for... Schooling Sexism!

Just a quick post about these HILARIOUS books I came across yesterday...! It's great, I can't even be outraged by them because they are that ridiculous. However, I would like to make it clear that I would strongly urge you NOT to buy these books for any primary-school child.


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A is for... American Appalling?

WELL, here's a topic that has already sparked some tweets, eh, @jon_digital, @jennifer_wilde and @cherry_waves?! Haha. ;)

This isn't really how I'd intended to start the post, but it seems relevant...

Here's a brief rundown of how our twonversation (Twitter conversation) went yesterday... So, Lee (cherry_waves) was saying that he agreed with my previous Urban Outfitters post regarding the price of their clothing not reflecting the quality of the garments. He also agreed the same for Topman and also, American Apparel. I subsequently told him that I'd been planning a post on American Apparel, actually.

M is for... "Money Draining Monarchy" (A Jubilee Special!)

I'd considered ignoring the Jubilee for blogging purposes; for the sole reason that I didn't really care about who was wearing what (although apparently Kate rocked out an Alexander McQueen dress that has previously been spotted on both Kim Kardashian AND Tulisa...! No. Still don't care.) and fashion didn't really play a massive part in the jubilant celebrations. So I had kind of ruled it out as a topic, what with wanting to keep my blog relatively fashion based (I have no idea why I'm clinging on to that...)...

M is for... Martin Schoeller.

Hi guys,

Just a quick one...

So I've just been introduced to Martin Schoeller, and I've been really enjoying his work.

He's a photograher, based in New York, and he's a big-timer; his work has been featured everywhere- The New Yorker, Outside Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, and Vogue.

U is for... Urban Outfitters- an exposé.

Bit of an exposé...

(Well, I say that, but this is news to me- not really ACTUAL news. This isn't an exclusive or anything; just to be clear. I haven't quite developed my investigative journalism skills enough to land myself a "scoop" as of yet.)

B is for... Burning a Birkin.

Love this! Brilliant topic...

Anyone see these pictures?! Or perhaps watch the destruction of this Hermès Birkin bag...? Gotta' love angst celebrity kids...

F is for... Fatkinis.

Oh, hi there...!

Alright?!

Pretty excited about posting again after my "time out", and if I'm honest, looking forward to subduing the "you-haven't-blogged-in-AGES" comments... I know. I have been slack.

Been so busy though! Moved into my new flat, spent a lot of time down in Devon and generally been doing things to keep busy... But since I never get the same response for my personal blog posts, I'll assume none of you care about what I've been getting up to in my absence, so let's move swiftly on... ;)

Swiftly on to... Fatkinis and women's body issues! Ha, I know.. way to segregate my male/female readership! Sorry guys. Just for you though, I'll include some images of hot girls in bikinis for you to look at for a bit- I'm sure that will keep you interested for a minute or two.(Girls in little clothing seem to be a reocurring theme for me and my blog- I'm not going to read too much into that...)

S is for.... Samantha Brick.



Could I ignore it? I tried very hard, but it was VERY difficult not to jump on the sarcy Samantha Brick bandwaggon.

Those of you who don't know who she is- FEEL ASHAMED. SHE'S ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND MOST MISUNDERSTOOD WOMEN, EVER.

L is for... La Conspirationniste!

Just a quick one just to ask you to check out mine and my friend JC's new conspiracy blog!

www.laconspirationniste.blogspot.com


It's obviously very different to this blog- more about unearthing the crazy conspiracies in the world and trying to establish the facts and fiction using science and, inevitably, our own opinions.

It's fun and we're having the best time researching it all! If you liked my Masons post, this could be for you...!

L.

C is for... Correspondence.

I'm going to start this post with a quick Note To Self...

Nb: If you're going to get mad at the fashion industry, and consequently your own fashion blog, don't leave the blog on a sour, frustrated note, depicting dead fly eyelashes, vagina necklaces and transvestites in soiled dead rat bikinis. People who have never viewed your site before WILL deem you psychotic. Best just to step away with your dignity.

S is for... Shut up about Fashion Week!

I haven't participated in much blogging of late, for a couple of reasons:

1. My friend JC and I have joined forces to create a collaborative blog unearthing some mental conspiracies (spurred by my recent fascination for all things Masonic!), so I have been working on that for the past couple of days. It's all early stages, so will link you when we've officially launched it. Obviously, it's going to have little to nothing to do with fashion, so if you like some of my non-fashion related posts, maybe you'll prefer this blog? We're very excited to get researching, most of the material we've got already is hilarious!

F is for... Frances Bean Cobain

Have had a bit of a relapse from blogging this week. Not because I have been busy, but because I wasn't really sure what I wanted from my next post. You see, I've been doing a bit of research into photography, as I am thinking about getting a good camera for my birthday, and so, have been seeking inspiration from one of my favourite photographers, Hedi Slimane. I'm also slowly emersing myself into the world of Instagram and Pinterest, so have been seeking material for both of those as well (anyone else involved in those?! They're both slow starters for me...).

L is for... Louis Vuitton Condoms...?!

Yes, seriously.

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K is for... Karl Lagerfeld



Funny that this should pop up in my Ebuzzing account, just as I was beginning to wonder to what extreme degree all fashion designers are both egotistical and self-indulgent...! (Have been looking into this for another post, which I will hopefully publish next week...) Couldn't let this one slide...!

So here we have Karl Lagerfeld interviewing himself, (yes, himself) for Net-a-Porter. It's actually quite funny and entertaining, so is worth a watch if you have a spare ten minutes! It's funny, because if this were any other person doing this, then we would all be questioning both his sanity, and that of anyone involved in the production. Dissociative Identity Disorder is the obvious mental health issue that springs to mind (amongst others). But, oh no, it's KARL LAGERFELD, it's not 'split' personality- it's just HIS personality! Love it. In fairness, I am not sure if it was his brain-child or that of Net-a-Porter, but either way, I couldn't see this working so well as a debut with any other designer. They will apparently be doing this with a series of different designers though, so watch this space...

M is for... Masonic.

I wasn't really sure whether or not to go ahead with this post actually, for two reasons: firstly, my agenda for writing this post isn't really fashion-based (I will come to this), and secondly, it is literally a subject that I could go on about for hours, and was worried, should I start, that I wouldn't stop and you'd all think me a psycho.

So I think I'm going to have to play this one by ear, and see if I can hit the 'Publish Post' button at the end ;). I would say 'wish me luck', but if you're reading this, I've already bitten the bullet, so instead I will wish YOU luck in the continuation of reading. Here we go...

C is for... Center Parcs!

This weekend saw our family trip to Center Parcs for Mum's Birthday. Mum, Dad, my sisters, their boyfriends, and I all went, and we stayed in a lovely executive lodge, complete with our own sauna...! Phone signal was dire, but luckily we got onto the wifi and everything was fine ;). Multimedia Medlin did not have a breakdown (thank goodness). I almost did though- as I managed to get to Center Parcs fine, all on my own (nothing to do with that Sat Nav that was on in my car), however, navigating my way to our lodge whilst in the actual 'Parcs' was ridiculous!! It took me approximately 35 minutes and I passed these two boys four times, and by the fourth time, they were actually laughing in my face. 'Oh good', I thought to myself.

R is for... Reiss SS12

FINALLY had a chance to look through the Reiss SS12 look book I was sent through last night! I checked out my friend Butter's post, as she was well in there with getting her blog-on, and was really impressed. Click here to see her post. LOVE Reiss. They've nailed another great collection.

N is for... Norman Parkinson. 'An Eye For Fashion' Exhibition.

MShed Bristol's Norman Parkinson 'An Eye For Fashion' exhibition preview night this Friday was really cool. We had a lovely time. It wasn't necessarily what I expected it would be, not in terms of the exhibition itself- that was everything I thought it would be- it was the event that wasn't really what I expected. And that is in no way meant to imply any negativity- the event was, if anything, better than I expected. The main differences were that it was a lot busier than I thought it would be (good atmosphere), a lot of people had made the effort to dress in the 50's and 60's optional dress code (fun), and instead if it being structured and guided (I don't really know why I thought it would be!?), everyone was free to walk around the exhibition at their leisure (accommodating). Anyway, here's a run-down of our night...

H is for... Hypocrite.

Got something very exciting in the post yesterday- tickets from our Aunty for the preview night of MShed Bristol's 'An Eye For Fashion' exhibition, showcasing the photographs of Norman Parkinson; arguably the most celebrated fashion photographer of the 20th century.

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

V is for... Versace for H&M Round 2

So Versace is back for H&M with their new 'Cruise Collection', which will be released on the 19th of this month: a collection of items that are sure to be the 'thing to be seen in' for Spring/Summer 2012 (if you care for that kind of thing). That is, if you're lucky to get your hands on them- the last collection to be released (see previous blog post) sold out in under 30 minutes in store and crashed H&M's website for an embarrassingly extended period; which actually, didn't come as a shock to anyone. I think these pictures sum-up the die-hard Versace fans, who queued for a ridiculous 24 hours to get their hands on the pieces:

M is for... Mila Kunis for Dior!!

MILA KUNIS IS THE NEW FACE OF DIOR. EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND LOOK AT HER.

Ok, so I'm being dramatic, gauche and annoying, and it's even making me cringe a bit (a lot); but, seriously!? That's my second favourite girl-crush with my second favourie fashion house! My heart skipped a beat and now I'm positively speechless. You'll have to gaze in lust at the photos (as I did for 17 minutes) whilst I regain my composure, and hopefully, my ability to form structured sentences...

D is for... Dragon Tattoo.

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So last night I went to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Hollywood version. Having read all three books in Steig Larsson's trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest), and also having seen the Swedish version of the film- I was a little apprehensive, to say the least, as to how I would feel about the 'Hollywoodalisation' of book that I held in such high regards. But actually, I thought it was exceptional. Minor plot changes, sure, but nothing that distracted from the gritty, raw, edginess of the book, which I was grateful for; if mildly surprised by.

M is for... Marketing.

Hey folks,

Hope you're all well, rested and fat after the festive period. I am ill, overtired, but definitely fat- so one out of three's not bad, right? I'd firstly like to apologise for my lack of blogging- it's been a pretty hectic couple of months for me. But I'm back, with the aim of resuming regular posting. Lucky you!

One of the reasons I have been so slack is actually down to job-hunting. However I now have a new job which I start on Monday, so I am very excited! I will be doing the marketing for the very prestigious Calcot Manor Hotel (take a look at the website, and book in if you like- rumour has it you'd be rubbing shoulders with Daniel Craig and Kate Moss).