Tuesday, 12 June 2012

Page Turners: Making Comics

I am currently reading:
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
Making Comics by Scott McCloud
Again. I probably re-read this book every few months, it's just so good. Even if you don't want to create your own comics it's an interesting read in regards to storytelling and how comics work. Scott McCloud has also written Understand Comics and Reinventing Comics which we also own and I've also read a few times too, but I love Making Comics the most.

Monday, 11 June 2012

Listen To This: Enya

Enya - Watermark

I love Enya. My Dad used to listen to Enya in the car so I have a lot of fond memories of her music and I always enjoy listening to it. I know that she isn't every bodies cup of tea, but I particularly like this song and urge you to give it a listen. It's a lovely, chilled way to start off your Monday morning.

Sunday, 10 June 2012

Sunday Catch Up

I spent most of this week in Yorkshire! My Grandpa and his wife were visiting from Canada so myself, my fiancé, my Mum, my Dad and my niece all popped up for a visit. We also saw my other grandparents who live near Leeds twice and did a bit of sightseeing too.

We visited Knaresborough, Whitby, Bradford, York, the Cow and Calf on Ikley Moor and stayed in a bed and breakfast my parents have been staying at for years and years which is on The Chevin ridge. So we did a fair amount of travelling around. We also drove through the North York Moors national park to get to Whitby because my Dad fancied taking the scenic route, a.k.a. he got lost.

The Cow and Calf, Ikley Moor

 It was very misty on the second day we went up, we didn't have the camera with us the first time because my parents just randomly decided to visit while we were on the way to the supermarket to get some shopping for my grandparents. My fiancé took these photos.

Knaresborough

We only briefly visited Knaresborough. My Dad grew up very near to here, he used to go fishing in the river you can just see in the photos, and it's also where my parents got married! My fiancé took these photos at the top of town, near the castle.

York

This is why we visited York. My fiancé and I have been to York once before, and I've visited several times. When we first went to York together we discovered a small restaurant called El Piano. We had a big jug of hot chai tea and a selection of yummy dishes, all vegan by the way and all very, very yummy. Everyone must visit El Piano. All of the food is amazing and the staff are super friendly, it's always an award winning restaurant which is really no surprise. If you're ever in York and fancy some delicious nibble, check out El Piano.

Whitby

 We walked up to the Abbey and the church next to it (as you can see above) to take some pretty photos. We didn't go into the Abbey because you have to pay and we're cheapskates, so we walked around the outside and saw some really pretty swallows darting about over the fields and one that was sitting on the telephone wire and chirruping away to it's buddies. It was adorable.

This was a little alleyway that looked like it just dropped away into the sea! There was actually a slipway just below, for a boat, but it still looks pretty awesome. 

A seagull sitting on Captain Cook's head.

Delicious Ferreo Rocher sundae from a cute little ice-cream parlour called Ice, it's next to the market square and we highly recommend that you visit them if you're in Whitby!

Bradford
 The square outside city hall has awesome fountains and weird steam things, which you can see myself and my niece playing with.

 This is what Bradford station looks like, it has weird twisty sculpture things outside and has an overgrown patch next to the platforms. I've never been to an overgrown train station before, especially not in a city!

National Media Museum
Bradford
A little collage of some of the things at the National Media Museum.
The three largest images are from the 'Life Before The Internet' exhibit.
From top to bottom, left to right:
Street Fighter arcade machine. Gaming consoles including Sega Megadrive, N64 and Snes. Kinect visualizer programme. My fiancé reaching into a curved mirror. Old television sets. Morph. Set from Wallace and Gromit The Wrong Trousers. The Wombles.

What we returned from Yorkshire with:
My Mum gave me the tin of Jubilee tea and the French cat books (French For Cats and Advanced French For Exceptional Cats), they are written in both French and English and are hilarious. The mug is from the Jorkvik centre in York. The animated origami is from the National Media Museum as is the Sign Language book, which my fiancé bought as a 'bathroom book', and the poster is an underground Super Mario Bros level which we've never seen anywhere else. The penguins and the York hoodie were bought for us by my parents, the hoodie is for my fiancé and the penguins are for both of us. My fiancé adores penguins by the way.

When we weren't in Yorkshire we were at my parents house in Essex. My Mum recently treated herself to a few quails and they are adorable! We have six of their eggs in our fridge and they're so tiny, when we cook them I will take a photo. The quails live in a long, tall run that my Mum made so that the local fox won't bother them, their run also contains some plants, bark chippings and two sand baths for them to play about with. They also have a little house at the end to shelter in.

So yes, that was my week! Next week's update will not be anywhere near as exciting.

Saturday, 9 June 2012

Something For The Weekend

Something To Read
I'm a clever person and guess what? So is everyone else. You're smart. So what? 
"There are so many more important things than being intelligent, and being intelligent does not make you better than anyone else!"

Something To Make
I love dreamcatchers, we have a little one above our bed, and these doily dreamcatchers are amazingly pretty and look super easy to make too!

I feel that I need a sand art terrarium in my house, just because it would be fun to put our Mario and Sonic figures in it and take photos.

Something To Eat
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Sea Salt and Rosemary
We had sweet potato chips at a restaurant a few months ago and they were delicious, so I really want to try and make my own at home.

Friday, 8 June 2012

TGIF: Cast Your Own Story


Source

Cast Your Own Story: If you could use existing characters from some of your favourite books to create a new story, who would be in it?


This question is so hard! I honestly don't think that characters can really exist outside of their own stories, not in the same way. It is their stories that create them and make them who they are, to remove them and put them with other characters, in a different story, would create a different character. Though I am sure there are some exceptions.

Some of my favourite characters are Gandalf and Samwise Gamgees from The Lord of the Rings, Meiko from Solanin, Badou and Mihai from DOGS Bullets and Carnage, and also Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia. I think that Aslan, Gandalf and Samwise would get along fine because they're all from the fantasy genre. I think that Badou and Meiko would be fine, if we avoid the whole criminal underworld and Mafia thing. Mihai always strikes me as a nice old man, when you ignore the ex-assassin elements. I'm not sure how Meiko would cope with any of it, but she did want an interesting life so maybe she'd love it.

I have no idea what sort of story they could all have together, unless Narnia and Middle Earth collided, a Orcish Mafia rose up and you needed a young girl who does't know what she wants to do with her life to be the reluctant hero?

This week at The Paralian Girl:
TGIF: Cast Your Own Story

Still to come:
Something For The Weekend
Sunday Catch Up

Saturday, 2 June 2012

Something For The Weekend

Well, thanks to the magic that is scheduling posts you are reading this while I am heading up the motorway to Yorkshire! I'll be back on Friday so please, try to console yourself and hold on until I return. Then I promise that regular updates will resume, and hopefully I'll have a lovely Sunday Catch Up post full of photos for you too!

Something To Read
It's hard work being self-employed, so take care of yourself and learn How To Beat Self-Employment Burnout.

Advice on Living The Creative Life from the one and only, marvellously talented, Neil Gaiman.


Check out Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking, as she argues that in a world dominated by extroverts, introverts are extraordinarily talented and should be celebrated, in her TED talk: The Power Of Introverts. Even if you're not an introvert, it's a really funny and informative talk, so definitely worth a listen. Also, while you're at it have read Sarah from Yes Yes' really useful advice on Networking For Introverts.

Something To Do
Hanging Basket Garden DIY
If you have a small garden, like myself, then these DIY Hanging Baskets is a really cute way to display all your lovely plants without taking up all the 'floor' space.

How To Keep Red Hair Bright
I've been dying my hair bright red on and off since I was fifteen years old, and if you also dye your hair red then try out these great Tips For Keeping Red Hair Bright.


Friday, 1 June 2012

TGIF: Which books have you found to be very rewarding when it comes to tackling tougher issues?


Source


Issue Books: Which books have you found to be very rewarding when it comes to tackling tougher issues? 

I don't think I've read many 'issue books' because as a teenager I read mostly fantasy books and as an adult I read a variety but I just haven't come across many issue books that make me want to read them. I've always disliked books that seem to be pushy, that talk about fixing people and how everything will be perfect in the end.

The only issue books I can remember ever reading and liking were The Bell Jar and Girl, Interrupted, I'm sure that there are more that I've simply forgotten about. I also read Before I Die about a year ago and it was...okay. I didn't really like the main character all that much and I think it could have been more interesting, but it wasn't a bad book by any means. I do find issue books interesting but I think a part of me finds them hard to enjoy because some subjects matters hit a little too close to home for me, I've known friends who have tried to commit suicide, who've had eating disorders, who've self-harmed and so on, so books that revolve around such subjects either upset me or aren't realistic enough and just irritate me.

But, if you have any suggestions of great issue books then let me know and I'll check them out!


This week at The Paralian Girl:
Review: Dear Dylan
Listen To This: Cloud Cult
Page Turners: Blue
Fake It 'til You Make It, Then Keep Faking It?
From The Review Pile: Starters
TGIF: Which books have you found to be very rewarding when it comes to tackling tougher issues?


Still to come:
Something For The Weekend
Sunday Catch Up
 
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