Typecast

I'm a Gleek, through and through and have used it as a great example of musical re/discovery in the past and bemoaned " The End " when Season 2 finished and I make no secret of my lust for Noah Puckerman now and then but I'm feeling disappointed with Season 4.  There's something not quite right; there's something missing and I can't quite put my finger on it.   Recently, Sky have been showing repeats of the earlier series', starting right back at the beginning.  It wasn't a slow starter, I still loved the characters just as much and the storylines were just as relevant now as they were four years ago.   Aside:  Is it really four years ago?   Yes, it almost is !! So where did it all go wrong?  Has it gone wrong?  Can a show outgrow itself?  The setting of a high school determines that there will always be new students ready to incorporate into the Glee club, therefore, in theory, there will be story lines a-plenty but now the...

If you're thinking of buyi ng One Direction concert tickets for a family night out  or have a penchant for Justin Bieber tickets then you might want to   visit StubHub!     The tickets on the website are ones that have been bought by fans but, for one reason or another, cannot attend the event. Stubhub is owned by Ebay and they pulled together a fabulous "record breaking" infographic that I saw shared on the  Kate Takes 5 blog  a while back.   They launched in the UK in December 2011 and provide fans with a guaranteed safe place to buy tickets to the theatre and concert events.  There's even a Google Chrome extension that I've seen recommended on the Google Chrome blog for purchasing sports event tickets.   You might want to take a look at their ethical policy which details their community partnerships  section.  It's great to see that engagement and empowerment for deserving youth organisations is being rolled out in t...

Every once in a while a great invention comes along that totally transforms the way we go about performing everyday tasks. One such invention is the barcode. Based on configurations of lines of a varying thickness, barcodes have offered an extremely useful way of transmitting data specific to any object to an optical scanner since the mid-20th Century. We’ve all seen plenty of barcode scanners in our day-to-day lives, at all kinds of retail outlets. It’s only in recent years however, that barcode scanning technology has become widely available to  the average person, at home or on the go, through improvements in technology utilising web cams and smartphone technology. This innovation has offered a huge number of benefits to users. Let’s run through our top 5 ways in which bar code scanners are making life easier for regular people, right now: 1        Conveniently valuing and selling goods - The last thing anyone needs is an unnecessa...

With Mothers Day approaching so quickly everyone begins to panic about what gifts they can buy their mothers this year. For most people they find that they end up buying the same present each year for their mothers and therefore want this year to be different, to buy something that is extra special and thoughtful. The top 5 gifts for Mother’s Day can vary each year, but the number one gift for everyone seems to be flowers. With a wide variety of flowers available, from the humble daffodil to the more exotic orchid, choosing flowers is a safe choice that will be guaranteed to bring a smile. The second top gift to buy is clothing; a woman can never have too many clothes. Of course this can be risky if you do not know the type of clothes that your mother would like or her size, but if you do, this is a great gift idea for you.  Candles and bath essentials are always popular and make the third top gift this mothers day. This is a usual gift for boys to buy thei...

This week sees the second Eroticon - the UK's sex blogger and erotic writers' conference - and I'm pleased to feature conference founder Ruth (a.k.a. Ruby Kiddell) on  Soundtrack To My Life  today.  I have got to know Ruth in both her guises over the past two years and she is a very talented writer with a clear vision when it comes to writing erotica and promoting the erotic industry in a positive light.  Her "write sex right" ethos is very powerful.  For now, over to Ruth... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Cilla Black - Liverpool Lullaby Long car journeys from Bedford to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands would be passed listening to Spinners tapes and this was one of the songs. I now sing it to my daughter, though replace "belt from your dad" with "kiss from your dad" Janis Joplin - Piece Of My Heart The soundtrack of the first time my heart was broken. The first year at college, he was called Dave. We're friends now. P P Arnol...

Katie Price in " married woman is pregnant " shocker.   I'll let you guess which newspaper is taking this angle but, when you find it, here is your compulsory bingo card Let me know if you get a full house!

I'm getting my Filofax freak on again.  I treated myself to a Temperley for Filofax Ikat personal organiser  basically because it was half price in the sale and it's the only time I'd ever be able to afford anything from that range.  I was hoping that this would be my ultimate Filofax (is that possible?) because of the purse/ring binder combo.   Coincidentally, this week I read " Is your set up working as planned " on Philofaxy  which recommends that you revisit your Filofax eight weeks into the new year to see if your layout is working for you.  For me, one of the joys of using a Filofax is that you can constantly change the way in which you use it.  Because I've recently split my system over two binders (one work, one personal) I don't use a full system for personal use at the moment - it's mainly just a day-to-day diary and a notepad.  Therefore the Temperley should work well, shouldn't it?  I have removed all of the dividers an...

Claire is part of the uber-amazing Cybher team and it's great to feature her on Soundtrack To My Life this week.  I'm glad to say that I've loved getting to know Claire more over the last year and have even pretended to be dead with her in a photo (it's a long story involving late night chats and lots of red wine).  I am loving some of Claire's choices so much because she's introduced a new-to-me artist and prompted me to find an old album.  For now, over to Claire... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Tracy Chapman - Fast Car   This was the first song that popped into my head. The lyrics are superb. I think I listened to this a lot when I was stoned... because I can't really pinpoint why I love this song so much. Ocean Colour Scene - Policemen and Pirates   After some serious reviewing of the track listing of Ocean Colour Scene's album, Moseley Shoals , I think I am going to have to go with this track. These are one of the most underrated bands eve...

...especially if you claim you're using it as research for a degree! Once upon a time, way back in the 1980's, a teacher in high school told a class of twenty-nine 15-year olds that is was neither big nor clever to swear.  She backed this up by explaining that swearing meant you were inserting an extra, unnecessary word into a sentence or using an expletive to replicate true anger.  I thought she should fuck off with her pontificating, as did approximately fourteen of my classmates. The 40-year old me now realises that she had a point but swearing is just so much fun and really helps you express your exact emotion at that particular time.  Plus, making up swearwords is part of adult creativity. Today, my mate Vix asked if I'd help her with a survey for her degree.  I am BORED. TO. TEARS. with requests from people to complete a survey to help them with research for their degree but Vix is a bit special in more ways than you need to know so I a...

It is round about this time of year that I start flicking through the holiday brochures, dreaming about places that I can't afford, places that I'll never see because my husband won't do more than three hours on a plane or package deals that won't break the bank.  I sometimes even start a Pinterest board full of tourist-y type places and the clothes that I'd wear whilst sightseeing. We usually book last minute holidays and throw it all on the credit card and looking back at this old post  I have just been reminded that we even booked to go away with only four days notice!  We've grabbed some great deals in the past and discovered some places that we never thought we'd visit as a family (Tunisia remains a firm favourite).  I daren't look through holiday brochures and set my sights on something because there may be a better deal just around the corner.   What about you?   Do you book in advance or wait until the last minute?  Tell me abo...

After my car being pronounced dead during its MOT I've needed a bit of cheering up, so here are a few things that have helped lightened the mood over the past few days. ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ A Quote My husband, whilst tucking into a KFC Big Daddy box meal: "They never seem put enough sauce on these buns but there's always just enough to spill out the other side onto your jumper." A Collage You can read more about why I am doing this here   and I tasked myself to find a new notebook this week to start my weekly vision boards.  However, I was sent the most gorgeous notebook   from Clinique as a "thank you" for taking part in a G+ Hangout with them last week (also see " Pretties " further down).  I'm a great believer in things happening for a reason and this notebook found its way to me.  If our paths cross this year at any time I may ask you to fill in a page or two for me.  I'll explain at the time.  A Tweet ...

This week it's a pleasure to welcome Lynn to Soundtrack To My Life .  Our paths originally crossed during "that" Mumsnet experience but, gladly, that's all water under the bridge and we have since connected on most of the other social media platforms.  It's inevitable when you are fellow bloggers, really.  More about Lynn at the end of the post but, for now, here are her song choices... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Brotherhood of Man - Save All Your Kisses for Me   My first musical memory. Cheesy Europop – no wonder I grew up loving Cliff Richard and Abba. It was my Mum’s fault, honest. I can still remember the sheer joy of realising that they were singing to ME. The last line, ‘.. even though you’re only three’ was written for me, I was sure. It is always handy if the question comes up in pub quiz, ‘What year did Brotherhood of Man win the Eurovision Song Contest?’ ‘1976!’, I cry. ‘I was only three’. The Carpenters - Close to You  My parents bought...

I find some shit good stuff whilst wandering around the internet but THIS tops it all.   Reader, I give you the ULTIMATE lip-sync video. It's even better than my own . AND it stars...  One member of lip-sync group extraordinaire, Milli Vanilli One star of the fabulous TV show, Bergerac One Rikki Lake One Norm from Cheers One Paul McKenna A Nightmare On Elm Street One 'Allo 'Allo cast member One Judd Nelson * sigh * Two members of Right Said Fred The Incredible Hulk and so much more! It's the video that just keeps on giving You can thank me in the comments...

When you have children,  strong  religious views  or a cultural heritage that is very important to you, you may want to only meet other singles who share your lifestyle.  You might be wondering how you will meet these people and whether you will find someone instantly attractive. You may have heard about pheromones and are asking yourself " What are pheromones ?" (answer : they are secreted by way of swear and saliva and can stimulate arousal, desire and lust). But where do you meet these people? Through your place of worship? Through shared groups. There is another option... Signing up to a dating site can allow you to meet people who share your values. Here are some examples of how online dating can help you find that special someone. Meeting someone who shares your faith If your religion is important to you and you want to find someone special who shares your faith, online dating sites can help you narrow down your search. If you want to meet othe...

It doesn't feel like 25 years since the first  Red Nose Day , does it? If you've been following any of my social media channels ( Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Google Plus ) you will have seen me sharing updates from a group of blogging friends who have been reporting live from Ghana.  Tanya, Annie and Penny have shadowing Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and the amazing Comic Relief team seeing how donations have been used.   Hi Nickie These children are all in the nursery attached to the Virtuous Women's Bakery.  Essentially the African Women's Fund donated money to the bakery to buy ovens so they could expand.  The women themselves set up the nursery to ensure their children are safe and off the streets when they are at work. T I was sent this digital postcard from Tanya after she visited the  Virtuous Women's Bakery  on Monday.  I love everything about this project and Tanya explains more  on her blog .  Please visi...

At work, where I never really mention what I do because I try to keep it separate from blogging stuff, we have an activity which centres around creating vision boards.  It took ages for me to buy into this, mainly because the only clear examples we can find on YouTube to demonstrate the ethos behind it are from mad Americans who probably should be on infomercials selling milk carton openers or juicers. If you've never come across vision boards before let me try and explain without looking like a mad American who should be on infomercials...  You create a collage by cutting out pictures and words from magazines, newspapers, downloading/printing images from the internet, real photographs... anything which represents your thoughts or the theme behind your vision board.  We strip this back and use the vision boards as part of our discussion work.  During our first session the students are given free rein.  Everyone - and I mean everyone - turns their nose...

This week's Soundtrack To My Life comes from John (or is it Peter? See his Twitter profile).  We 'met' online one Friday night when I was under the guise of my alter ego, Friday Twiz .  John (or Peter) has recently moved to the other side of the world and is enjoying a new life over in Australia.  Here are his song choices... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Kylie Minogue – Can't Get You Out Of My Head   Being eighteen years old, gay, and liable to spending a great deal of time in one nightclub or another leads to one hearing (and dancing to!) a great deal of Kylie Minogue, but this song attached itself to my life more than any other.  I first heard it while on holiday in Brugge, Netherlands, where I saw the video on the television in the hotel room. I was enthralled by the contrast of the floaty white fabric against the harsh red plastic of her back-up dancers' costumes, and was intrigued by the oddly melancholy feel of an obvious club hit. Later in the year the...