"I don't think that there are any limits to how excellent we could make life seem."

Have you ever fallen in love with someone just from the words they write? I seem to do it about seventeen times a day. Looks are irrelevant in this equation, it's all about the writing that people have squeezed out of their very being, put to paper and published, baring their soul. There's nothing like a good poet to soften a heart.

My latest literary crushes include A. E. Houseman (in spite of his homosexuality and death), Nick Laird (Irish hottie extraordinaire), Jonathan Safran Foer (whom I simply adore), and Milan Kundera (who makes me feel a bit more normal). I'm sure none of these people are really all that well-rounded or personable, but crushes are meant to be utterly without foundations, so there you go. So gentlemen, if you ever want to woo your lady, use a thesaurus. Just a little tip. 

I spent the weekend in beautiful Aberystwyth catching up with Sarah and Jordan and partaking in much merriment. One of the best bits was the stunning drive through the Elan Valley where I always used to go with my family, but haven't been for years. It was a gorgeous day, and despite driving through what was very possibly somebody's back garden and seeing ten thousand dead pheasants, Charlotte and I were almost sorry to see the journey end. Oh and I dyed my hair. I feel much more like my sixteen year old self, which may or may not be a good thing. 

Time for some pretty music!

Jonsi...



Jay Jay Pistolet (who can say things better than I ever could, therefore putting him into the aforementioned category)



The Yeah Yeah Yeahs because they are consistently brilliant...



And Mazzy Star just because.

my top ten fictional heroines.

• Number One - Lisa Simpson - an eloquent, sarcastic Buddhist vegetarian Democrat nerd who campaigns tirelessly for social justice and - and is eight years old. 

"Dad, as intelligence goes up, happiness often goes down. In fact I made a graph... I make a lot of graphs."

• Number two - Juno MacGuff - an eloquent, sarcastic Democrat nerd who happens to be with child. The fact that she can be silly enough to get pregnant at sixteen and remain brilliant really says something, I think...

"I could like, have this baby and give it to someone who like totally needs it."

• Number three - Summer Finn - As in Summer. From 500 Days of Summer. Her name was even in the title, and I'm not sure there's a young girl alive who can watch this film without wanting to just be her. And the difference with Summer (unlike most of the females on this list) is that boys like her too. So you can always cajole one of them into watching it with you. This also works with films starring Keira Knightley and Jessica Alba, but unfortunately not really with Julie Delpy or Kristin Scott Thomas. 

"So, what if I'd gone to the movies? What if I had gone somewhere else for lunch? What if I'd gotten there 10 minutes later? It was - it was meant to be. And... I just kept thinking... Tom was right."

• Number four - Grandmother Willow - The only member of this list who is a tree. A tree who can kick arse and scowl and advise. She is so very wise, and talks sense to Pochontas when everyone around her fails to see past the fact that she has fallen in love with the enemy. The fact that John Smith happens to be hopelessly dull seems irrelevant to all.

 

"It's enough to make your sap boil!"

• Number five - Clementine Kruczynski- From Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Kate Winslet just seems to improve tenfold when she dyes her hair orange and hooks up with Jim Carrey. Then erases him. Then hooks up with him again. She's a little bit crazy, but who isn't? All in all, a brilliant lady to admire.

"Drink up, young man. It'll make the whole seduction part less repugnant."

• Number six - Lyra Belacqua- From the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. I wish these books had been around when I was little, because I would have been able to have a fictional role model who wasn't Milly Molly Mandy (who incidentally was not even shortlisted for this little chart.) She's just so cool and fearless and gutsy. She is impulsive and unafraid to speak her mind or take a risk. I also sort of wish we could all a little animal daemon like Pantalaimon to keep us company and give advise and suchlike things.

"'I wish…' she said, and stopped. There was nothing that could be gained by wishing for it. A final, deep shaky breath, and she was ready to go on."

• Number seven - Hermione Granger - Yes alright, she whinges a hell of a lot, and she can be a bit full of herself, but she also punches the insufferable Draco Malfoy and is the cleverest witch of her age. Everyone says so. And she's muggle born, therefore disproving all the right-wing, closed minded pure-blood fanatics that threaten the wellbeing of the wizarding world.

"Wingardium Leviosa', not 'Leviosaaa!"

• Number eight - Kat "I'm not hostile, I'm annoyed" Stratford - From '10 Things I Hate About You', which despite my best efforts remains one of my favourite films. She reads 'The Bell Jar' and 'The Feminine Mystique' and refuses to mingle with her peers and their "meaningless, consumer-driven lives". Amazing.

"I still maintain that he kicked himself in the balls."

• Number nine - Meg - From Hercules. She's such a mahoosive feminist and has a really cool voice. What more could you want?

"Well, you know how men are. They think "No" means "Yes" and "Get lost" means "Take me, I'm yours."

• Number ten - Jo March - From 'Little Women'

"I find it poor logic to say that because women are good, women should vote. Men do not vote because they are good; they vote because they are male, and women should vote, not because we are angels and men are animals, but because we are human beings and citizens of this country." (I think this says it all)

spring forward, fall back.

Hello chumlies. Shit is going down in the world today, particularly in Libya, Portugal and Israel - even in Britain where the budget has been unveiled. Unfortunately - despite my best efforts - I'm not very clued up on any of these things, and there are people in the world who are, so I suggest you read their blogs instead. If however, you want to read about Elizabeth Taylor, Bangable Dudes In History, Cheltenham Spa and deadpan political satire, you are in the right place!

So yes, Elizabeth Taylor died and I am sad. That is the gist. She was married a grand total of eight times, which I think is quite incredible. One of those marriages was to Richard Burton, need I say more?

Continuing on the theme of lusting after the deceased (this could refer to either Taylor or Burton, let's face it), I would like to introduce you to this site which offers an array of interesting political, intellectual and important figures from times gone by, accompanied with a little commentary (laced with bad puns) explaining just why this particular person should be deemed 'bangable'. You couldn't make it up. My particular favourite is Lewis-president-killer-Powell, whose piercing blue eyes and nonchalant air apparently absolve him of his crime.

I've now entered the horrid vortex of boredom that is the Easter holidays. I have plenty to be getting on with, such as learning two languages and reading lots of books, but all that can be put off for quite some time. Today I went to Cheltenham Spa, which has put me in an excellent mood. I spent lots of money and enjoyed the sunshine and hung out with middle-class, middle-aged women. In all, a splendid day. I then spent the whole evening watching 'The Thick of It', which I'm now a bit obsessed with. I am told by Labour Party insiders that it is really quite accurate.

The trouble with The Unthanks is that when you get one of their songs in your head, you sing it in a ridiculous accent. This is a gift I would like to pass on.



p.s. my new favourite author is Milan Kundera. Check him out, he writes beautifully. As does his translator...

pour a little salt we were never here...

Hullo there.

Following the triumph of last year's lent for which I gave up eating meat (and carried on for a long, long time until some floor ham made me see sense about a month ago), I decided that like last year I would give up something that would really challenge me. It's more fun that way. So I thought long and hard (but not really, it's just a turn of phrase) and I thought it would be a good idea to steer clear of alcohol for forty days and forty long nights. More than anything, I think it's a good sociological experiment. Is it possible to be a first year student, to go out and actually enjoy it without drinking a drop? It's also perfect timing because I was drinking a bit too much and it was affecting my sleep patterns, results and general wellbeing.

So tonight I headed out to the potentially wonderful Top Banana, fuelled only by orange squash and a vague sense of determination. It was actually alright. Of course, there was the first weird hour when everybody was somewhat inebriated, bad songs were playing and I was dancing self consciously. But then I got into it a bit more. I suppose if everyone else is wasted, they don't really care what you look like, do they?

In all, I will save money, calories and dignity and still have an okay time. Hopefully. It's pretty tricky though.

I miss gin.

Music time!

Firstly, I am a massive fan of this lovely song by Fossil Collective. It's a bit Band of Horses-esque, and just generally quite pretty.



Next up, a Bon Iver cover. I'm not sure who by. I like it though. I think.



And finally, Blind Pilot. We saw them supporting the Decemberists the other night, which was definitely an added bonus. I fell a little bit in love with them and their lovely beards. Sigh...

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

If you didn't already know, today is the centenary of the first ever International Women's Day. This means the interwebs are filled with feminist rants and badly written articles by supposedly empowered women. It also means that men (and women) everywhere have the opportunity to complain and to suggest that feminism is no longer necessary or even relevant. A couple of years ago if someone had said this to me, I would have embarked upon an angry (slightly squeaky) rhetoric about inequality. I would probably have used the words 'objectification' and 'chauvinism' at least twice, and rendered the person in question either a little bit frightened or a little bit amused.

I've grown up a bit. 

So now, instead of droning on about how much feminism matters, I am instead asking the question: does it? My personal opinion remains unchanged, and I would still very much consider myself a feminist, but I would like to take a softer approach to tackling inequality. Rather than evoking resentment, today should bring about debate and thanksgiving. I realise how lucky I am and I never failed to be amazed by the fact that the (relative) liberation of women is all so recent. It's too soon to be complacent. As soon as the din dies down, it passes under the radar, so apathy can't be the answer either. 

So now what? What does it mean to be a modern day feminist? We have the vote, we have equal rights , we have everything. Right? Do we really have the right to be harping on about inequality when there are women in the world who cannot vote at all? Do we really have the right to employment tribunals and equal pay when there are women who must seek permission before they are even allowed to leave the house? Erm... I think so. Maybe. I suppose the key difference is that it would be really very difficult to completely reverse a patriarchal society, whereas imposing stricter regulations so that women are not objectified in the British workplace is relatively a piece of piss. So yes, we are lucky that we don't live in a country where women are uneducated, are mutilated, are lesser citizens, but feminism is as valid as ever, in this country as well as others.

For me, one of the biggest problems Brits face is equality in the work place. There is disagreement over how much less women earn than men on average for doing the same job, but forty years after the passing of the equal pay act, even the lowest figures suggest that it's over ten percent. Then we must consider the baby factor. If I was a big-shot business tycoon, the simple fact of the matter is that I wouldn't necessarily want to employ a young woman because she would be too much of a liability. When times are hard, the last thing businesses want is to be dishing out money to employees who are not doing their job because they are selfishly too busy having ruddy children! The problem has been aggravated by the recession. Everyone has been hit, but women seem to be at a greater disadvantage, which is a real shame.

Feminism is defined as a Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Who on earth could argue with that? The word has negative connotations - of bra burning and masculinity and aggression - but when stripped down, there is nothing in this movement, which sadly seems to be losing momentum, that doesn't make complete sense. Equality. No matter what the cost. One day we won't need a day to remind us that women are equal. 

 On a brighter note, the Guardian has today published its definitive list of the top 100 women including the likes of Maya Angelou, Angela Merkel and Rachel Maddow, but also controversially including Madonna, Lady Gaga and Thatcher, to name but a few. It's a good list, and makes for an interesting hour.

Here are my top five sites for womeny folk:

• Dorothy Surrenders
• F Bomb
• Jezebel
• Woman's Hour
• Feministing

I leave you with a link I have shared before, but it was back in May and I simply couldn't top it. I want to be her just a little tiny bit.

And failing all that...