Call of Duty – a girl’s perspective

Ok so I have spent since Christmas listening to the constant sound of “We have the flag, we dropped the flat, they have our flag…’ ARGHHHHH, I genuinely thought I may destroy the TV if I heard the word flag EVER again.

If you are someone who has played Call of Duty, or like me you have an ‘obsessed with the game’ boyfriend, you will know what I am talking about.

After a few weeks of annoyance I decided to actually sit through him playing the damn thing and see what all the fuss was about and to my suprise I actually quite like it (I am a great spotter!). The problem I find is the controls. It is like trying to learn the coordination to drive a car – which makes no sense because I can drive and he can’t – but if I play I end up constantly looking at the floor only to look up and find myself shot in the face!! Having to control where you look and where you move is hard. That sounds pathetic but I see a lot of sky!!

It is a very good game and as soon as I get the hang of it I have no doubt I will be better than him! I have tried playing the non-online version, or rather I was told to play this as he didn’t want the embarrassment of my skills under his name! I thought I did well – I managed to get Castro (the aim of the game) or so I thought until I was informed this is actually his double and I had not done too well at all. I then fell out the plane to be told ‘Mason what the hell are you doing?’ at which point I turned the whole thing off and threw the controller down in a huff!

It is a great game but it’s hard… for me anyway. I suppose though if it were not then what would be the point?! However I think it is for girls too and we have every chance of being a lot better than the boys… I mean we are better drivers so this can’t be hard!!

The Great Costume Illusion

I love fashion and clothes and I love how it mixes in with all other forms of expression. When I was younger, my mum and I used to watch the clothes show and laugh at the insane outfits going down the runway, from excessive use of feathers to whole fruit bowls on the models’ heads. Once the products have filtered down to the High Street they are just a shell of what they used to be and in a way that’s a little bit sad. They are not what the designer initially intended them to be. This happens in almost all cases except one… music.

When an artist gets onstage they suddenly feel they can wear anything and it is acceptable! It becomes a costume… giving them the scope to do whatever they like! The results can sometimes be terrible but sometimes they are fascinating.

One of the most interesting things I find is the ‘illusion’ of the costume. The artist will be dancing about onstage and so they need to be secure, but a lot of them want to wear as few clothes as possible. This in itself presents a problem. So in most cases when they are actually wearing a lot more clothes than it seems, it looks like they are in their raunchiest ever outfit.

Like Rihanna showed at the Brits on Tuesday, a skin-coloured piece of material can give the impression she is wearing a very low plunging top. And this is not her first use of this, on her Last Girl on Earth tour she wore a latex cat suit with what looked like the highest cut thong in the history of the world. This was in fact not the case and though from the cheap seats it looked like she was showing some serious skin – she was really very covered up! Same with Britney in Toxic and her Baby One More Time performance at the VMAs in 2000. They all wanna get naked and they all do so with skin-coloured material. Beyonce, gave the impression she might fall out her dress at her EMA performance of Sweet Dreams but on closer inspection she too was covered!

We all know who started the trend of course, who else but Madonna. However, no matter how many times I type nearly-naked Madonna I can’t find the poster campaign… I do find a lot of other stuff!!!! She wore the bodysuit with diamonds appearing to be naked on a poster to promote one of her songs / albums – exactly like Miss Spears some years later.

Clever fashion leaving celebs not as naked as it may seem!

My new favourite place

Today I went to new Covent Garden hot spot The Foundation. It is my new favourite thing!! I would go there every night if I could. It’s a quirky bar where nothing matches and EVERYONE should go. Granted I have not been there when it’s busy… I was in there for their competition to find the winning short film to promote the launch of the place, but I got to sample a cocktail or two and meet the staff, who were VERY friendly. I felt I was in an episode of a Mary Portas show – only one on how to do it right!

The cocktails were great, with aptly named concoctions coming out in weird and wonderful containers, from jam jars to test tubes. There are booths where the doors shut, areas where you can have your own fridge to store your alcohol and a DJ booth and seperate area where the partying really happens.

My two favourite things about the place are the doors made of Lego – yes real Lego, and the menus made from old vinyl records. I spotted an MJ one and I was automatically a fan! SO… if anyone wants to throw me a lovely surprise party ever… this is the place to do it please.

iPhone Vs BlackBerry

 

It is the great debate of our time… iPhone or Blackberry? My personal preference is the BlackBerry… though I have yet to try out an iPhone. Of course I have played around on my fair share and become addicted to the game apps… I love the Zen sword one… amazing. BUT I love my BlackBerry because it is simple, easy and it gives me Twitter and Email!

Of course I know iPhones do this too, but once you have got past all the apps and touch screen complication, well… it’s just too much work! Emails ping through to my Blackberry and I can quickly reply on the non-touch-screen keyboard… done!

Don’t get me wrong – iPhones are more fun, they have Skype and let’s face it they are apple so they are just cooler, but if you want something to just be a phone and work – it’s the Blackberry.

I would like to have my iPod on my phone and the screen is bigger on iPhone too. The solution? Get an iPad for fun and use a Blackberry for work!

The first British superstar of the decade?

Let’s face it, we haven’t had a British superstar since… Freddie Mercury? The Beatles, if we are including groups or well… I can’t think of anyone else and certainly not a woman.

The Spice Girls were probably the last really huge UK phenomenon. The US manage it constantly – MJ, Elvis, Beyonce, Britney – they are household names across the world and no matter what has gone on in their private lives it is safe to say they are cemented as legends of popular culture.

So… could it be finally that we are seing the rise of a new superstar. It would certainly appear so. She is a songwriter, has a fantastic voice and just the right amount of attitude to crack the world so I have very high hopes for Jessie J. I suppose you might say it is easy to jump on the critics’ band wagon and some might even say all the hype will be her downfall but there is no other UK British female artist – certainly not that I recall who has as much potential as our Jessie!

Before she has even released an album she seems to be headline news and what’s the betting it will jump straight in at number one. Her performances are great and apparently Justin Timberlake has labelled her as ‘the best singer in the world’. As much as I would have loved to hear the original intendee (Rihanna) sind Do It Like a Dude, I am glad it was the way Miss J introduced herself as if nothing else it has restored my faith in British music!

A mixed review

I was out in London on Monday waiting around for 10.30pm when I was due to go on BBC Radio London with Joanne Good to discuss That Charity Style – my other blog.

So whilst waiting for the time to pass we decided to have some food. After much deliberation we decided on La Tasca near Oxford Circus. Hmmm… this is a mixed review. I likes the food and I love Tapas – though I prefer little local places like Soprano in Tunbridge Wells which basically does the same just a little more authentically. The food was good and I loved the desert (pictured). The service however was not so hot!

Granted it was busy, but to be left 20 minutes before being asked for drinks, was a little annoying – I won’t even start on how long it took us to get them the second time round. I love my food and I love eating out – I do it alot. I am a stickler for service and completely agree with Mary Portas that this country is terrible for it.

You would think being in the capital it would be better, but no… almost all experiences I have had at restaurants – chain restuarants that is – have been terrible for service. If you want to get in and out quick don’t bother with La Tasca but if you like tapas and like a crazy chocolate dipping dessert with doughnut twists, strawberrys and marshmellows – well, it’s the place for you!

Browlicious

As you will come to learn I am obsessed with eyebrows. I genuinely believe they can be the most important thing on your face. When I was younger I over-plucked – big time. It was always the smaller the better – until I grew up and realised that was RUBBISH. The bigger the better (as long as the shape is right).

So when I heard about Browlicious from the powder loung I was excited. Browlicious is brow nourishing serum to regenerate, grow and repair sparse, patchy brows. Today is my first day of using but if it does what it says then I am going to be buying gallons of the stuff.

Find out more or try it out for yourself at £19.00 – http://www.thepowderlounge.co.uk

A Red Rose

When you are looking for something to wear for Valentine’s Day look no further than this beautiful Lanvin stunner.

Red may be the obvious choice but then if you are wearing this you can afford to be a bit obvious – though maybe not anything else due to the price tag.  You will most certainly stand out in a crowd and becuase of the day it is very likely you will be in one!

Have the girls looking on with jealousy – head to matchesfashion.com to pick this up for £1,550.