Strong Independent Woman or something?

I have seen this meme somewhere before, I don't remember where. I feel like I have something to say about it.

Mainly that: I don't get it.

So, this is supposed to be an aisle at a supermarket, right? But, it makes no sense. Aisles are normally dedicated to similar products. While cat food and cat toys would be together, the other two are completely different. But okay, let's move on.

So, cat food and cat toys. Nice, but what does it have to do with strong independent women? Whether you're a strong independent woman, a weak dependent woman, a man or a non-binary, of any degree of strength and independence, is irrelevant. What's relevant is whether you have a cat or not. If you have a cat, then obviously the cat needs to eat. Like, you're not gonna starve your cat, are you? Cat toys are maybe not as necessary, maybe you'd get one or two things from there. If you don't have a cat, this aisle is of no use to you.

Next, wine. I don't know about that because I don't drink any alcohol, therefore that section of supermarket doesn't interest me. I didn't think there was a specific aisle for wines, as I thought all the alcoholic beverages were together in one place? I guess it depends on the supermarket.

Now, the last one is the one that makes least sense of all. "Meals for one". Because I can't imagine a supermarket that sells meals for one, when everything is targeted towards families. Last summer during the heatwave, I wanted to get an ice lolly from Tesco. Just one. All I saw was multipacks and when I asked a shop assistant, I was told they don't sell individual ice lollies. You'd have to get one from an ice cream van or a corner shop. I go to supermarket a few times a week and never encountered anything like "meals for one". They do have ready meals, of course, but never have I seen them labelled as "meals for one". Why would they do that?

So in conclusion, I don't understand what all of the above has got to do with strong independent women, or women at all. I don't know what the creator of the meme for trying to go for or whether it was a joke which I misunderstood. I fully accept it may be the latter, because I usually fail to understand jokes. Majority of them are just not funny to me.

Bonus

Another strong independent woman meme. I included this one because not long ago there appeared a tweet on my timeline about someone who came out to her mother as a lesbian and the mother said, but who will open your jars for you if you won't have a husband and that in retrospect it was quite funny that all that the mother thought men were useful for was opening jars. I can't remember whether the person who tweeted it was the daughter or if it was just someone telling a story, I saw a screenshot of that same tweet later on Tumblr, but I can't be bothered to look for it again and anyway, that's not the point. The point is, what the hell is it with women and opening jars??? Is this, like, a thing? Because I'm a woman and I've never had a problem opening a jar. I never needed anyone else to do it for me. I never knew I was supposed to struggle with opening a jar. Nobody told me. I'm not strong, it's just common sense. If a jar is particularly tight, I insert the tip of a knife between the neck of the jar and the lid and twist it, sometimes there is a pop! sound and the jar opens without any difficulty.

It makes me wonder how the hell have gay women managed to survive. Maybe they don't buy anything in jars?

Happy International Women's Day

"Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."

-Robert A Heinlein

"How wrong is it for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself?"

-Anais Nin

"Why are women... so much more interesting to men than men are to women?"

-Virginia Woolf

"I am no bird and no net ensnares me."

-Charlotte Bronte


Game of Thrones ladies figures against the background of Agatha Christie books.

Seems like an unusual combination at first--but why not? I have such tastes. And a significant part of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire at the beginning was a mystery--finding out who Jon Arryn's killer was.

Agatha Christie is my most favourite author ever and that's not likely to change. It is often said that she is the best selling author after Bible and Shakespeare. But if you think about it, Bible is a must for every Christian, of which there are billions and Shakespeare's works have been around way longer than Agatha, so I maintain that she is in fact the best selling author of all. She's mainly known for Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, of course, and the book And Then There Were None. I hope that some of her less well known stories get more recognition. Superintendent Battle stories would make a good TV, for example. She also wrote some suspenseful short stories sometimes with a hint of supernatural, would be fantastic as anthology series in the style of Black Mirror. Then there are her non-mystery novels that she wrote under the name of Mary Westmacott. I could go on and on and on. But there more likely will be gazillion Poirots by the end of the century before anyone even finds out about, say, Destination Unknown.

"If a woman was in charge of Scotland Yard..." often repeats Mrs Ariadne Oliver.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is one of my favourite books, in fact I often say it is my most favourite book. I like it so much I have it in both physical format and Kindle. Who can forget that opening line "Last night I dreamt I went to Mandlerley again."? That sentence alone gives me goosebumps. Rebecca is classed as a gothic novel, but towards the end becomes a real thriller, keeping you on the edge of the seat and up till early hours of the morning.

The character of Rebecca herself fascinates me. She dies before the story even begins and yet seems more alive than any living character. I always found it interesting that the book is titled for a dead character, whilst the narrator remains nameless. Now, I sometimes have unpopular opinions when it comes to books and pop culture and this is one of those "sometimes". I like Rebecca. But I like the narrator too--I relate to her because, boy don't I know insecurity. Some people claim Rebecca was a sociopath, but remember, whatever Maxim says about her is only his word. Much like with Edward Rochester and Bertha aka Madwoman in the Attic. And much like with Rochester, I wish I could throw something at Maxim. Forget about the revelation at the end. I still want to shake him. Like, he marries this much younger woman of lower class than him, who knows nothing about the higher society and he does nothing to help her. He just lets her wander around Manderley, confused. He should have drowned. 

The book in the above picture is Sally Beauman's Rebecca's Tale. It's a sequel to Rebecca, written from the point of view of three people (Colonel Julyan, his daughter Ellie and a journalist), with one part dedicated to Rebecca's diary. Great stuff!

"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum."

Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood has had a lot of attention in the past two years thanks to the TV show. And deservedly so. I had a bright idea of doing a re-read of the book when the first season was airing and it gave me bad dreams. Serves me right, I guess. But maybe it should be so, because the book is supposed to scare us. The top review on Goodreads gives it one star, because the reviewer claims it's too far fetched. While I believe that a lot of reviewers are pretentious and do it just for attention, this one is just stupid. "How did it happen, why did nobody do anything?" Ummmmmm.... I hope the girl is not for a rude awakening one day.

"Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it."

And that is precisely it.

I end with something more uplifting by George Carlin:

“Here's all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid.” 

I Love You Two

Two years ago for Valentine's Day I made a post on my main blog about my favourite fictional couples. I thought I'd do it again this year here on blogspot, expanding the list a bit more.

My main blog is dedicated to photography so for that occasion I did a little photoshoot with figures of Jon Snow and Ygritte from Game of Thrones, with a handmade (by me) Valentine's card in the background.

As you may know, fictional pairings are called "ships" by the fans, which is short for relationships. This word gives opportunity for some great phrases, such as "sail that ship" or "that ship sunk". Shipping is a big thing; people get very passionate about it. I'm not much of a shipper, usually I can do without romance in stories, but there is no denying that a good pairing can be, well, everything.

The OTP

Let me start with my absolute best one, the OTP (one true pairing) - Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Their first contact was him calling her "Carrots" and her breaking a slate over his head. But he quickly realised that she was not going to fall to his feet like he was used to with girls. And for her it took a long, long time to realise she did love him. Gilbert was the right one for her because he understood her, he was supportive of her literary efforts and he knew what was important to her. He took her to one of her favourite places--Hester Gray's garden--to propose for the second time, successfully. 

There was nobody else—there never could be anybody else for me but you. I’ve loved you ever since that day you broke your slate over my head in school.

The OTP 2

Guess who it is?

Xena and Gabrielle from Xena Warrior Princess of course. They're practically married, I don't know how anyone would dispute that. Like, it's clear as day, you know?

Game of Thrones

I've already mentioned Jon Snow and Ygritte. With so many characters there are so many possibilities and there are some great canon ships, both in the books and the show, but that also gives way to ship wars (seems to be at the moment Jon Snow/Daenerys vs Jon Snow/Sansa and Brienne/Jaime and Brienne/Tormund). I don't want to get involved in that and I'm not that bothered with whom Jon Snow ends up with (though I think it's going to be Daenerys). Jaime and Brienne are my two most favourite characters but I think the show will pair her with Tormund because I don't see Jaime surviving and maybe the showrunners don't want her to be alone at the end. So for the purpose of this post, I'm going to pick not-very-popular choices because that's me.

Samwell and Gilly

Sam reminds me of Neville from Harry Potter a bit. They even have a similar scene, they both try to stop their friends (Sam Jon Snow and Neville the trio) towards the end of the first book/first movie/first season by standing in front of them in hoe-don't-do-it mode. 

Sam and Gilly have both suffered abuse at home from their fathers and the first thing he does when he meets her is try to help her get away from Craster. She believes in him when others just ridicule him (apart from Jon Snow who is nice). He teaches her to read and more importantly, cares about her son. She even names him after Sam.

Missandei and Grey Worm

Hah, I bet this one is unpopular! Probably "unnecessary" as they say. Well, I like them. They both used to be slaves and now serve Daenerys. She's got knowledge and he can fight. They're also cute.

Someone once told me "but they can't have a normal relationship" (because he's an eunuch). What the hell is a normal relationship??? 

You are my weakness, Missandei.

Star Trek

I was never a Kirk/Spock shipper, but what the hell. They spend so much time together onboard the Enterprise that they may as well be husbands. 

Elsewhere on Deep Space Nine, Jadzia Dax and Worf make a nice pairing.

I'll probably remember some more after I've published this but at the moment I can't think of any more. 

Marvel

Okay but does anyone else think Marvel movies can't somehow get their romances right?

It seems to me that the pairings are a bit forced. This goes for the cinematic universe and the Netflix shows (though I've not seen all of those). No wonder people ship Steve and Bucky and Thor and Loki--both Captain America and Thor have had better interaction and better chemistry with Bucky and Loki respectively than with any of their supposed love interests.

Apart from Tony Stark and Pepper, aka Pepperony. But of course that's Robert Downey Jr and how can you not have chemistry with Robert Downey Jr?

And then there's FitzSimmons on Agents of SHIELD

Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz; they've had a ship name form the start so how could it be any different way? Speaking of Agents of SHIELD, there's also Phil Coulson and Melinda May. 

Then I forget Cloak and Dagger aka Tandy and Tyrone.

They're so cute!

So, it's not that bad in Marvel's fleet then, hmmmm?

Harry Potter

This is another one with a million possibilities and the same number of ship wars. At first I thought Harry ending up with Ginny was a bit lame, but I have since got used to them. Ron and Hermione were, of course, always the end game, whatever JK Rowling has to say about that now. (Well, it seems the fans just ignore what she says these days anyway.)

I'm going to mention another couple that is kinda low key and that I have always like ever since the end of Goblet of Fire where they first see each other--Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. I like Bill because he's the oldest and works at a bank, like me. And Fleur is not only this amazingly beautiful creature, she's a witch skilful enough to be picked for Triwizard Tournament. It was not cool how the girls were bitchy to her when Bill and her got together at the beginning of Order of Phoenix but thank Merlin they accepted her. 

The most popular ship among fans seems to be Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, or Wolfstar. For some unfathomable reason JK won't confirm this as canon but whether she does or not, it's just too sad!

Also I wish Luna and Neville got better pairings with people we actually care about but that is all I have to say.

Star Wars

I've always liked Han Solo and Leia and I'm not even a Star Wars fan! The image is, I believe, from the unforgettable and unbeatable nerf-herder scene. 

I saw Force Awakens sometime between Christmas and New Year on TV and right away I shipped these two:

I even forgot their names, I just know the ship name is Stormpilot and that's what I googled for the image!

Classics

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy - Pride and Prejudice

I've been seeing so many gifs and images from the 2005 film on my Tumblr from multiple bloggers that I finally decided to watch the movie. All I can say OMG. That chemistry! Elizabeth and Darcy are a great couple already in the book but omg that movie! Just kiss, you fools!!!

You have bewitched me body and soul.

Line is from the movie btw, it does not appear in Jane Austen's book.

Sherlock Holmes

Like with Spock and Kirk, I've never really shipped it but like with Spock and Kirk, they may as well be married. 

Oh look, RDJ again!

You know, it's said that Kirk and Spock were the first slash ship, but I don't know... can't you just imagine Victorian ladies secretly writing Holmes/Watson fanfics?

This post is getting long, so I'm just going to quickly run through some other ships I wanted to mention.

Bronte sisters work - I have a hard time with Emily's Wuthering Heights but I've always liked how younger Catherine got together with Hareton at the end. Cathy and Heathcliff did love each other but my god, they're so insufferable. Anne Bronte's Tenant of Wildfell Hall is my favourite Bronte book, which is of course typical of me. Helen flees abusive marriage and eventually finds happiness with Gilbert. (Funny how a writer named Anne wrote a book with the main male hero named Gilbert.) As for Charlotte's Jane Eyre, I have a lot to say about that, but I'm not going to now, but I will post a link to my fanfic at the end.

Gilmore Girls - Lorelai and Luke of course!

Friends - Ross and Rachel are horrible, Monica and Chandler somewhat better. I like Phoebe best but every time I think of her and Mike, I remember David who was so good to her and I feel sorry for him. I get that Mike's Paul Rudd but come on... it could have been handled in a much better way. So I'm going to say that the best ship on Friends is Carol and Susan. 

Parks and Recreation - every couple there is, seriously! Leslie and Ben and April and Andy and even Ron and Diane. I like this one.

Brooklyn Nine Nine - Ray and Kevin aka everyone's dads.

Divergent series - Tris and Tobias

Agatha Christie

There's the sleuthing duo Tommy and Tuppence Beresford

There are many great pairings in her books--Agatha seems to have been a romantic--but I'd like to point out the couple from the 2017 Murder on the Orient Express movie, Count and Countess Andrenyi. There was just something deep about them. 

So I come to the end, finally and here is where I post a link to my fanfic.

My Fanfic

The fanfic is from above mentioned Jane Eyre. Jane herself doesn't appear much--she's not the one the story is about. The story is about Bertha Mason aka Madwoman in the attic. Now, I know there are some works that pair her with Jane Eyre (I like the thought of the two of them together burning down the house with Rochester in it and running away to the Caribbean) but that's not what I did. Because I have to be so extra, I shipped her with Blanche Ingram. I couldn't write about Jane. She's a fully formed character and I couldn't get into her head. So I took all the characters that nobody cares about and fleshed them out. I slightly changed the names, Bertha is called Antoinette, like in Wide Sargasso Sea and Blanche is called Bianca, the Italian version of that name, because I like it better and because in my version she's part Italian. Here it is! 

What is a blog??

I've not posted for ages. There is always a lot on my mind--every minute of every day--but it's not always easy to put it into words. Besides, there is a lot of anger in me as Brexit approaches, so it's better I stay away from writing, otherwise I may post something I will regret later.

Keeping the blog alive with totally random pic of my favourite boxes of mints (they're sugar free). 

Concerts I Went to in 2018

I only went to three, but that is a lot, considering I went to 1 (one) in 2017, which was Dizzee Rascal and 0 (that is, zero) between 2012 and 2016. Not sure why...

Here I share some recordings I made at these concerts.

In chronological order:

Imagine Dragons, Manchester Arena 

This was so fucking amazing, I wanted to cry when it ended. I waited for my tram at Victoria Station, thinking, how can I do something as mundane as getting on a tram after such an experience? (Also, Dan Reynolds *swoooooon* that voice!)

Ed Sheeran, Etihad Stadium

This was huuuuge! First time I've been to any football stadium and to an event with so many people. Ed performs on his own with what I believe is called a loop pedal. And a guitar, obviously. "Sing with me and if you don't know the lyrics, just make them up." -Ed

Game of Thrones Live, Manchester Arena

I am a fan, of course. One of the best thing about this crazy TV show is the music, so naturally I couldn't miss the live show. Ramin Djawadi conducted, played different instruments and talked to the audience. Exhausting! 

So there you have it. These are videos from concerts I went to in 2018.

As you can see, my taste in music is all over the place. That's why nothing I do makes any sense, including this blog. And I like it!

Maybe that's the reason Imagine Dragons are my favourite band. You can't put them in a box, you can't call them this genre or the other genre. I don't think they're bothered from what I've seen, they just do their thing, while music snobs waste productive hours on arguing why they're not rock. No time for that here.

Happy new year!

Yes I'm jumping the fucking queue, bitch!

This is where I start with: I thought I heard it all. I was wrong.

Just a day or two ago, I was thinking about Theresa May and wondered that maybe I was being too harsh on her, that maybe I hated her too much. That maybe there was still a chance for redemption. After all, she is not the one that caused Brexit, is she.

Now, I know she is in a difficult position, I realise that. She inherited the mess made by David Cameron, who ran away like a coward after the referendum. She's being pushed from all sides. I get that.

My hatred for her stems more from her time she was a Home Secretary; she is the one that conceived the idea of a "Hostile Environment". As an EU citizen it didn't affect me, but that's not the point, racism is racism, xenophobia is xenophobia, it's not good for anybody--and besides it will soon start affecting me. When she took over as PM, immigration-obsessed as she is, she didn't make it easier for us. Instead of leaving us as we are (and only applying any new rules for new-comers), she wants us to apply for something she calls "Settled Status". This goes for people that have lived here for 10, 15, 20, 30, even 40 years. Imagine someone telling you to get "settled status" after so long, yeah, go get settled yourself, bitch. (Also, note that this is not a registration, which would have been okay, but an application and applications can be refused). You may have heard about what she's done to the Windrush people: here is a handy Wikipedia entry. See what I mean? But you know, I thought if she apologises sincerely, makes amends, she can still redeem herself. A lot of this is a consequence of UK not using any kind of ID system which is in place in most of continental Europe, but that is a debate for another day. But now, I lost it.

I refer you to my Freedom of Movement Works Both Ways post. Yes, an EU person like me can live and work in UK, but this is reciprocal. Moving between EU countries is not migration really. Over the past few days, since she got the deal, Theresa May has been boasting about how "freedom of movement will end definitely". This is being celebrated--yes, we are truly in the 1984 territory now. War is peace, freedom is slavery, you know how it goes.

But this sent me over the edge. Speaking at the CBI conference (Monday 19/11) she said EU nationals, regardless of their skills and experience, were

"jumping the queue"

ahead of engineers from Sydney or software developers from Delhi.

Link to video here - I was going to embed it but I can't stand to have that vile face on my blog.

I'm so fucking mad I want to break things. 

She was the Home Secretary. She was the one that set a net immigration target. She was the one that made it difficult for software developers from Delhi or engineers from Sydney. I know what she is doing. She is playing the good old divide-and-conquer between EU people and non-EU people, plus she is also appeasing the xenophobes. But I'm still mad. Raving, Hulk-like rage. I would happily trash her around like Hulk does Loki in the first Avengers movie. Puny Prime Ministers.

Ironically, I have not jumped any queue. I came here in 2003, before my home country (Slovakia, if you want to know) joined the EU, which was 2004. I came as an au-pair. I had to wait the line at the British Embassy for Visa and entered through the non-EEA gate. My charge was a spoiled, vicious little brat that almost turned into a child hater (I got over it now), but I digress. 

The thing is, Terroresa Mayhem cares not a fig for your Sydney developers and Delhi engineers or whatever. She already fucked them up with her Hostile Environment. But dumb people just nod to this and think how fair this is, because, you know, what matters is "the skillllllz" not nationality.

Fuck off.

But hey, I'm not the one losing the freedom of movement next March. I'm keeping my beautiful burgundy EU passport and my right to live and work in 27 countries and you can suck it.

And I'm gonna be jumping that queue and it's big and black, here, see?

Bitches.

RIP Stan Lee

The Twelfth of November 2018 was a sad day for the world. This is the day we lost the great Stan Lee, who passed away at the age of 95. The writer, editor, publisher and Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, he co-created some of our favourite superhero characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, X-Men and countless others. He was also known for his cameo appearances in live action movies/TV series based on the comic books. Here I share with you the list of his cameos I made in my notebook.

Please note this list only includes the movies of Marvel Cinematic Universe. I made it while I was rewatching the movies in preparation for Avengers Infinity War.

Which is your favourite? 

I think the one I really laughed at most was Clubhouse DJ in the first Deadpool movie (which is not on this list) but out of these I would pick the FedEx delivery guy: "Are you Tony Stank?"

Rest in Peace, you legend.

#Excelsior

Freedom of Movement Works Both Ways

It's not just EU nationals that can come to live and work in the UK. It works the other way round as well. British citizens are able to do the same in the EU countries. You'd think that's a good thing. Actually, it IS a good thing. It's just that the media and especially the disgusting tabloids have poisoned the atmosphere so much, it's thought of as a negative ("THEY ARE COMING TO STEAL OUR JOBS AND CLAIM BENEFITS, because of course having a job and claiming benefits at the same time totally happens). Remainers/EU supporters have to defend FOM everywhere they go to everyone.

I will never, ever understand this. Even the very phrase "Freedom of Movement" is loaded with positivity. There is nothing to hate about it. Nothing.

Say it with me again:

From the European Commission website:

Free movement of workers is a fundamental principle of the Treaty enshrined in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and developed by EU secondary legislation and the Case law of the Court of Justice. EU citizens are entitled to:

• look for a job in another EU country   
• work there without needing a work permit
• reside there for that purpose
• stay there even after employment has finished
• enjoy equal treatment with nationals in access to employment, working conditions and all other social and tax advantages

People's Vote March, London - videos

I was there.

I made a post on my main blog about the march, check it out here, if you want. On this blog, that you're reading now, I will dedicate an entry for the videos I recorded.

I know it's not much (and I need to work on my recording video skills) but I hope they still give an idea of the huge-ness of the march. Happy viewing!

ETA: I should say that the first one was more about capturing the beauty of Hyde Park in autumnal sunshine but you can still see marchers going about.

Abandoned Shopping Carts

What is it with them?

Similarly you can ask what is it with me taking pics of them and it is a fair question. It's just what I do, I take photos of the most random things, mostly with my phone (and "serious" pictures with my camera). Though shopping trolleys aren't a favourite of mine--I prefer wheelbarrows. 

My area has a large Tesco superstore, so that's where these are from, but still it doesn't explain why they are left abandoned. I don't think any of these are still at the same locations, though, so someone probably took them back to the store.