New Year's Resolutions.

Half New Year's resolutions, half goals for the year I suppose.

1. Continue to be a 'non-smoker'.

2. Actually see how studying works out for me and try and get a 2:1.

3. Start reading.

4. Move away from Wycombe permanently.

5. Find a reasonable boyfriend. I'm totally lying: be single for the rest of my life.

6. Take myself a little more seriously.

7. Become a master cake maker.

8. Meet Lil Wayne.

9. Actually write my book consistently.

10. Get a job.

11. Quit Tesco :(

12. Stop drunk texting/ tweeting/ Facebooking.

13. Stop thinking I am funny.

14. Stop thinking it's acceptable to wink at people - I just look like I've got something in my eye.

15. Give up on diets completely.

16. Bomb Stamford Bridge.

17. Win the lottery so I can action my World Theme Park Tour.

18. Have 52 burrito weeks.

19. Stop dancing in public.

20. Join a band.

21. Audition for X-Factor... and win.

22. Date all of One Direction.

23. Marry Justin Bieber.

24. Continue hating Gareth Bale.

25. Make friends with my arch-nemesis.

26. Marry Michael Cera.

27. Become a little less insufferable.

28. Learn to text.

29. Appreciate my grandma every single day.

30. Hate Sandi Toksvig a bit more.

31. Start wearing considerably less make-up.

32. Avoid karaoke nights.

33. Pass my driving test.

34. Stop prank calling people.

35. Grow-up.

This list is entirely pointless. I am incorrigible.

Everything Everything was everything I could have dreamt of, and more.

I was completely stuck for what to get my mum for Christmas this year. She, like me, just tends to buy herself the things she wants, as and when she sees them. I was browsing gig listings in London this week and saw that Everything Everything were playing at the Union Chapel in Islington. Of course it was completely sold out but, not being one to give up at the first hurdle, I found a paid of tickets on eBay. Sure, I paid 80 quid for them but, my goodness, it was 80 quid well spent.

If you've never been to the Union Chapel before, it's a church that's currently in use. It's actually the really nice element about it, as they only put gigs of a certain type on there, where they'd expect a certain audience, which is great as everyone's very respectful of the venue and the artists. My mum was not the oldest there by a long way, we got seats at the front with relative ease and there was no being shoved around by sweaty teenagers and having, what you hope is, water poured over you.

Everything Everything and the Man Alive ensemble were supported by James Blake. If you haven't heard his stuff, definitely head here and give him a listen. His set was incredible; majestic doesn't even begin to describe how good it was. I don't really think my mum 'got it', as she whispered over at one point, "that man isn't even hitting those drums". My favourite song was definitely 'Limit To Your Love', if only because his voice is so mellifluous.



After a brief interlude, which gave me the opportunity to pay NINE QUID for two glasses of, essentially, non-alcoholic mulled wine - bloody church had burnt all the alcohol off hadn't they - Everything Everything and the Man Alive ensemble took to the stage. The gig was the first of its kind, with respect to the fact that the band released an iPhone and iPad app for fans to download, which enabled them to access a live stream of the show. It was also accessible online live, and the edited version will be uploaded at some point today here. Definitely definitely check it out, if you haven't already.

I can honestly say that I have never heard a man sing live as well as Jonathan did. His voice was absolutely enchanting and, while the quality was almost as good as the album, his stage presence and the entire performance only served to highlight why seeing music performed live, as it was written to be experienced, is not a quality that can be reproduced by any other medium.

I don't have the words, or the technical knowledge, to encapsulate exactly what it was that made this so fantastic. I recently heard someone say "nothing can make you feel something as quickly as music can, it's the most immediate shortcut." I guess that's what we all love about music really; that inexplicable quality that gives us ownership over a song where the artist left off. That's great music.

As ridiculous as this is, I have kind of decided I'd like to join a band. I'm definitely going to start singing lessons again, but stay away from X-Factor at all costs... until 2011.

All the things I would do if I had a little money...

Unfortunately for my brother, and thousands of other prospective students, this will not include paying £9,000 a year in tuition fees.  Matthew deserves to go to university: he is much harder working than I am and, if I am honest, he is much brighter than I am, yet today marks the day that he was priced out of the education he has the right to receive. I spoke to him a few months ago about whether he was planning to go to university, he said he would be if it wasn't going to be too expensive. It really says something quite alarming when a then fifteen year old boy is having to weigh up his future against undertaking debt in excess of £35,000. Of course, Matthew is not alone and of course, after today he will certainly not be alone in having to make such a decision. For me, going to university was a given - and I'm an idiot, for Matthew, I am hoping it won't be a luxury that he decides to give a miss.

The NUS, and the countless students who have campaigned and peacefully protested, are a credit to the hundreds of thousands of students, and prospective students, they were representing and defending.  I am proud to have supported the action against the increase in tuition fees and, for those of you who have criticised me, would have done so even if it had been a proposal made by my own party. The arguments have been made and the vote may have been lost, but the admirable determination of thousands of students certainly hasn't been. There's little else to say except, this is not over, in any way.

I suppose the only bittersweet comfort I have from today is that the Lib Dems can finally stop banging their "Labour introduced top-up fees despite a manifesto pledge stating they wouldn't" drum. Yes, we may have introduced top-up fees, but we certainly didn't financially cripple generations to come in one fell swoop. Cheers, Cleggover.

Hunk of the day.

Top 20 Christmas Songs.

So, this morning, I decided it was high time I made my Christmas playlist on Spotify. Generally I hate Christmas, but I do love the food, the drink and the amazing music that comes with it. Which brings me to my Top 20 Christmas Hits. There were no real criteria for this list; originally I was going to insist that they had to directly mention the festive season, but I broke my own rule. Obviously you probably won't agree with this list, and there are a multitude of reasons why these tracks have made the cut. Go write your own list if you're that bothered. Don't judge me for #1 - I genuinely believe it is the best Christmas song EVER written.

20. Lonely This Christmas - Mud

19. White Christmas - Bing Crosby

18. 2000 Miles - Pretenders

17. Walking in The Air - Aled Jones

16. Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea

15.  Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon and Yoko

14. Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith

13. Step into Christmas - Elton John

12. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

11. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

10. Last Christmas - Wham

9. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade

8. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard

7. Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Choir of King's College, Cambridge

5. The Power of Love - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

4. Stay Another Day - East 17

3. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid

2. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

1. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens

More of what I want for Christmas.

So last Christmas and birthday I couldn't think of anything I wanted. I ended up asking for the money I'd have spent on me being donated to charity.  I know what you're thinking, what an idiot. This year there will be no such mistake.

I want to be glowing, even when it's icy cold.

These Jimmy Choo for Hunter wellington boots. A ridiculous, yet necessary defence against the snow.

If I'm to grace the Labour doorstep it's imperative I do so in a comfortable, yet cool, manner.

I want to smell like Sienna Miller.

I want to use more creative and colourful language.  Malcolm Tucker is.

I want this, but only if Eric Northman or Jason Stackhouse is January.

Bon Temps represent.

I want to be able to live my life like this.

For casting spells and that.

This nail varnish is UNREAL. Out of production, but I can dream.

I'll never play it, but I like the idea of it.

Wheels and Dollbaby clothes are perfection.

Disney Couture castle pendant.

I genuinely plan to use this on nights out.

Vivienne Westwood's take on wellies.

Mac's limited edition tartan collection.

Alexander McQueen knuckle duster.

Greatest tattoo EVER.

Practical yet trendy: Hat FM.

If you don't know what this is give up now.

Tatty Divine for Penhaligon's.

Orange county drum kit. I want to be Mike Portnoy.

I still want a skateboard. I still want to learn to skate.

Next level.

Before I start I just want to say, Boy Better Know all day!

My second favourite member of Young Money.

Ceiling flex.

I want everything in the entire world.

I'll be watching you.

Over the past few weeks I've discovered a number of things which I both love and hate.


1. The 'see friendship' function on Facebook.


2. A number of different apps and programs that allow you to search people's Twitter feeds.


3. A site which has every tweet ever published, archived, no matter whether you deleted them or not.


4. Google's Twitter searching function. Yes, an entire search engine devoted to invading someone else's privacy.


5. A nice little program which gets round that pesky private profile/ photos business on Facebook and Twitter.

I still live my life vicariously through Blink lyrics.

You know that moment when you listen to a song and it transports you back, so vividly, to a moment in time?  That's my favourite feeling in the entire world. It doesn't matter what the memory, I just find it fascinating that even the simplest of songs have the power to evoke such emotions. Every time I hear My Chemical Romance's 'In the end' I'm fifteen, riding the U-Bahn in Berlin; every time I hear Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' it's 3am on Christmas morning and I'm telling someone I love them when I don't mean it, every time I hear Lightspeed Champion's 'Midnight Surprise', I'm getting rejected from Oxford University. The list continues, of course.

I've never understood people who don't like music. In fact, I'd go as far as to say I despise people who aren't passionate about music. I'd never judge a person for what kind of music they were into, just so long as they have an appreciation of music in some form or another.  I recently titled one of my blogs 'without music, life would be a mistake', in case you don't know, this is a quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche. In my mind, never has a truer word been spoken.

Like the rest of the world, I booked tickets to see Blink 182 the other day.  I've been waiting for this moment for years, as they literally were my teens, encapsulated into one band - obviously this is the same for pretty much everyone I know, hence worldwide hysteria. I look back all those years, when I used to listen to their songs, on repeat, for months on end, empathising with every single lyric, of every single song, and nothing's really changed.  I still listen to their songs; think I'm actually Tom DeLonge; and spend my days wishing my life was still filled with the teen angst of 'Down' and 'Carousel'.  This is why I'm so excited; so I can whine about my woes in such an embarrassing fashion and it be acceptable because I'm just reminiscing...

I've decided I'm going to start trying to go to more shows. I used to go to so many, now I only ever go to ones I really want to go to, and waste my nights out in grimey clubs playing trashy chart music. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of dodgy RnB as much as the next person, but I do miss going to live gigs. I also miss MySpace, if only for the music. Lately I've just been listening to the same music, all the time, to the point where I don't even listen to new releases from my favourite bands and artists anymore, which is shameful.  So yeah, someone take me to some good gigs, lend me some CDs, or just hook me up with some new music to listen to - I'm starting to become one of the people I hate.

You're a wizard, Harry!

I often wonder what my life would be like if Hagrid had never uttered those immortal words. I also wonder what my life would be like if I wasn't such a Harry Potter obsessive. I've concluded that it would be hell.  Some people would say that it's concerning that I'm doing a degree in English Literature and regularly make the case for the Harry Potter books being the best books ever written - I think it's fantastic. Those who went to see the last film with me will remember how I fashioned my own wand to take to it. If you think I'm making this up, I'm afraid you're very much mistaken. My friends actually had to ask me to put it away as I was embarrassing them. It was excellent though; elm, 11 inches, dragon heartstring. I'm lying, it was a glorified twig that I'd whittled into a wand shape with a bread knife. My weirdness aside, I was massively disappointed with the last film; comparable in its poorness only to the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Don't get me wrong, they're enjoyable films, but no one can actually tell you the plot five minutes after you've left the cinema.

I wasn't expecting a lot from the latest offering from Warner Brothers and and David Yates. I've come to accept that the film adaptations will anger me, and in no way emulate the magic of the books. This might be a bold statement, but I honestly believe that in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' they have, at last, nailed it.  I am of the opinion that it is the best of the franchise so far, and actually does the book some justice.  There were no gaping plot holes, and they really captured the poignant scenes, such as Dobby's death and Ron's departure, perfectly. The scene in Godric's Hollow was exactly as I'd played it out in my own mind, and the take over of the Ministry, and indeed the use of 'Magic is MIGHT', was disturbingly, yet obviously intentionally, resonant of "Arbeit macht frei." My only criticism of the film would be the way in which it was shot. At times I found the action was moving too fast for the shots, and even simple shots, where they were panning out, were often out of focus and shaky. Look at me, pretending I know about the technical elements of film. However, as I said to Chloe, my grandma could have filmed that up on her JVC better.

While the film was a respectful translation of the book, I must wonder whether this is because it's the weakest of, what I like to call, the infallible and authoritative works of Harry Potter. These being the last three texts. I argue this as I see a shift between the first four books and the last three.  In a similar way to the shift there is between the Old and New Testaments,  I believe the last three books to be the 'New Covenant', if you will, of the Harry Potter world.  Perhaps it translated better as a film as there was less to translate, or that what there was to transpose to film was easier to do so.  I'm currently writing an essay on why it is that adults love these books as much as children do - yes, I'm aware that I'm in third year and it's utterly ridiculous for me to do this. I haven't actually got an answer to this question yet, however, what is obvious to me is, the reason that everyone loves the books so much is that, to each person Harry Potter is something different. The world they create is entirely unique to their own imagination, and in translating it to film, it places a restriction on the magic that isn't actually the magic of the story, rather the magic that allows the story to manifest itself in such a way.  For me there a two types of Harry Potter fans: those who love the films as they have only ever watched the films, and those who love the books. I admit, I love the books and quite like the films, but I enjoy them on their own merit, not because they are the films of my favourite books - in the same way you can enjoy a lesser form of anything you love.  For those people that love the films in their own right, it's because they've built their entire concept of the world of Harry Potter on the basis of what the film has presented them with. For those that love the books, the films tend to destroy the very foundations of what you loved about the books in the first place.  This 'discovery' has allowed me to make a few conclusions about my general dislike of the films, and my view that loving the films and loving the books are mutually exclusive.  This leads me on to why I believe the latest film is such a triumph, and why it is the weakest book.  J.K. Rowling explicates every detail in the last book, in a way that she didn't before. Whether this is because she developed her writing skills to a greater degree, or whether she wanted to leave no questions unanswered in her last book, I do not know.  However, a book such as this will translate well to film as we are receiving it exactly as the author instructs us to. Unfortunately, I've recently been studying Philosophy and Literature which puts paid to any idea of the author, and actually advocates the death of the author - with respect to interpreting a text. However, with Harry Potter the author is only instrumental in the telling of the story. I often like to argue that Hogwarts must exist because no one, no matter how brilliant, could possibly invent such an intricate and mesmerising world, in which millions of people can immerse themselves, limitlessly.  This idea, however ridiculous, does have some truth in it. The story exists in and of itself; as an organic entity which remains unchanged by the author, but by each reader.  Unfortunately for my ever-dwindling street cred, I have read a lot of FanFiction. Partly because I am a massive loser, and partly because it helps me write, in a very odd way that I can't actually explain.  These stories, written by fans, only serve to reiterate this point further; Harry Potter is magical because of its essence rather than its substance.  If it was the substance that made it excellent, then there would not be hundreds of thousands of stories online, read and loved by millions, and it certainly would not be the case that it is the best selling book series of all time. On the face of it, the books are only appealing to a rather small demographic, yet the entire rational world is gripped by Harry Potter fever.

I'm actually at the point now where I actively judge and dislike people who don't love the books or, at the very least, the films. In my mind there's a special place in hell reserved for these people, along side; those who don't have Facebook, those who don't have a mobile phone and those who don't like pizza.

I'm in love.

P.s. I've NEVER written any FanFiction, honestly.

Idiots abroad: The awkward moment when you get no platformed at a karaoke night.

The past couple of days have been excellent. I've got to know the participants at the conference a lot better, and I've come to terms with the food a bit more. I've accepted that I will be eating fish everyday, that I will never like dill again after this week, and that there is a spectre haunting Ukraine, that spectre is mayonnaise.

Yesterday Ben and I led the day in full, which was daunting but a lot of fun.  I haven't actually told many people what I'm doing in Ukraine, which perhaps I should do as I'm not just here on a jaunt.  I am here on behalf of the Labour Party, through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, leading a conference in conjunction with the Alfred Mozer Foundation in The Netherlands.  The 'Winter Academy' is for young people from Social Democratic parties in the Eastern Europe and South Caucuses.  The participants are all young activists, like ourselves, and as much as we are here to lead the conference, I am definitely here to learn from their experiences.  The workshops we have run, and presentations we have given, are aimed at giving the participants skills and ideas to take back with them to their own countries, although I feel like I have learnt more from them than they have learnt from me.

Anyway, having led the entire day we were exhausted, but a trip to a Ukrainian karaoke bar was on the cards. There's no keeping me away from karaoke nights in England, let alone abroad where I can spectacularly embarrass myself without fear. What happens in Kiev stays in Kiev, right?  To take part in the karaoke you had to pay 50 UAH, which is about £3.50, so obviously I was going to get my money's worth.  First of all we sang John Lennon's 'Imagine' - not my choice and I didn't really sing it.  Then we did 'Summer Nights' as a table effort. I sang Adele's 'Hometown Glory', and then I did a duet of Glee's 'Don't Stop Believing' with Matthew and 'Angels' with Anahit.  I should probably mention that the karaoke master actually tried to stop us singing anymore songs because she thought we were trying to hijack the night with, what they liked to call, 'foreign songs'. I've never been so outraged in all my life 1. there is nothing remotely foreign about Blazin' Squad, Roll Deep and Tinie Tempah - all of which were available to sing, and 2. we were the best people in the joint!

During the time I have been writing this update on my new Ukrainian life, we had a fire drill. I made a greater attempt to save my Mac than my life - I've definitely become a 'Mac wanker' in a week; whereby I've developed an irrational fear of PCs, and am afraid that if I touch the sub-standard technology I will spontaneously combust.  I was panicking about the fact that the hotel doesn't have fire doors and, as Matthew rightly pointed out, "of course they don't, they don't even have Diet Coke!"

I am pleased to confirm that I still haven't spoken a word of Ukrainian yet. I have actually learnt 'thank-you' in Russian - the language everyone here speaks - it's 'spasiba', but I've set a standard for being an ignorant Brit, so I'd like to maintain that.

P.s. This makes me want to kill myself. They also call Harry Potter 'Jarry Potter' here, pronounced 'Gary'. He is at a prestigious magical institution, he does not support West Ham and work in a garage in Walford!

Ridiculous really...

I wrote something earlier that reminded me of something a friend said to me recently: "it's really unacceptable for girls to ask boys out on dates, Ruth. They'll always say no because they think it's weird." This isn't true, is it? And it's absolutely ridiculous, right? I mean, I'd do it anyway if I wanted to because I don't care, but I'd be interested to see if this is a general perception. I've only made this question specific as it's pertaining to my friend's original statement.

Idiots abroad: the only way is English.

I've been in Ukraine 24 hours now and I am having a fantastic time, although it turns out we're not actually staying in Kiev at all. We were collected from the airport and, after an hour and a half, we arrived at our destination: a lovely hotel in a town called Irpin. We had a few hours to kill before the opening dinner of the conference so Matthew and I went into Irpin to change some money and have a look around.

Being in the town itself was quite surreal; the whole place looked like the set of Pulp Fiction and the shops and stalls were eerily bereft of shoppers.  Despite finding that some of the local yoot were following us around, we had a look at the market and shops, hoping it would provide us with an opportunity to point and loudly say "THAT ONE".  After doing a bit of shopping, which involved buying a lot of hand-carved, novelty wooden items, we found a seedy bar and went for a drink.  Matthew attempted to get us a pint each, but failed MISERABLY seeing as we know no Ukrainian and they have no English. He returned with, what can only be described as, a mini pitcher of vodka and two shot glasses - at this point it was 3pm GMT. We enjoyed the bar, and the company of the locals, who provided us with beers and some fantastic dancing.

Top chap.

So far, in Ukraine, I am pleased to report several things: they are fully supporting a 'no platform for vegetarianism' policy; they still think Toni Braxton is a big name; it seems to be illegal not to smoke in public places and, that my Ukrainian hat has been a big hit - pictures to follow.  However, I am disappointed to report that my universal language of the world has not travelled well and I am a bit lost in translation at the moment. Saying that, while I do look like an ignorant Brit when someone gives me something and I just shout "THANK YOU", their lack of understanding is actually working to my advantage as it was completely acceptable for me to say in front of the barman that I thought he was really fit, as he didn't understand.  I shouldn't get too cocky though and should probably learn the translation for "British knobhead".

While I plan to update this daily, I'll probably fail. So, until next time!

xx

P.s. Ben Semens is arriving tonight and, in preparation for his visit, I've ensured that everyone knows the correct pronunciation of his surname. I'm such a selfless person.

Without music, life would be a mistake.

Kind of connected to something I'm doing in Philosophy and Literature at the moment. These aren't in any particular order, nor are they necessarily my favourite bands and artists. These are just some of my favourite pieces of album artwork, for varying reasons - I would give you them but that would be very boring. This was originally going to be a 'Top 10', I got carried away.

N.b. I've deliberately left 'Dark Side of The Moon' out.