How was it for you?

I hate the post-Xmas blues. Everything feels really rubbish now. Our Christmas tree is still up and it's annoying me. On the bright side, I got some lovely things this year from my family.

The best thing I got this year was my iPod! 80Gb memory that I will probably never fill but I'll give it a good shot. My parents said that they felt bad for not getting us enough, which is rubbish. It wasn't about the presents anyway, that's just a nice bonus. I told my mum I already had the best Xmas present ever already. My sister scowled and said "If you say 'the love of your family' then i will hit you!" I actually meant my Edinburgh university offer! I have enough chocolate to sink a ship so on New Year's Day, my parents are having a party and my sister and I are going to make fondue!

My gran bought me this dress. It's absolutely gorgeous and I don't even wear dresses. I'm going to wear it to my school prom in June and it's good to know that nobody else will have a prom dress like this - maybe because it isn't technically a prom dress but I was never one to follow the crowd!

(Spot the Torchwood poster!)

So now this is sort of the end of the holidays. Now I have all my homework to do (do teachers not understand the meaning of 'holiday?') so bring it on...maybe just a few minutes more rest...

A-X of 2007!

Advanced Highers - I'm the only person in 6th year at my school taking 4 of them. Yes, it's hell, yes, it's killing me, no I don't regret it!
Breakdowns - It seemed like you couldn't open a magazine without hearing about some famous girl going close to the edge. From Lindsay Lohan's rehab hopping to Amy Winehouse's madness, and of course the dethroned princess of pop turned professional train wreck, Britney Spears. I'm past the point of sympathy with them all. Get help!
Concerts - I saw Rufus Wainwright and My Chemical Romance. Who knows what I'll see next year.
Dave - The new name for UKTVG2, this fantastic channel, the home of witty banter, is my haven as it shows old repeats of Whose Line Is It Anyway, QI, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Mock The Week and my parents favourite, Top Gear.
Exams - Believe me, they're not getting any easier! I passed 4 of my 5 with great marks (the philosophy one was a train wreck, thank you very much SQA) and only broke down crying three or four times over it all!
Films - One of my obsessions. A great year with Atonement, Zodiac and Hairspray being in my top 3.
Football - Not one country in the UK made it through Euro 2008. But I'm so happy that Scotland worked as hard as they did. No matter how you reacted to your country, they all did us proud!
Harry Potter - The end of an era with the Deathly Hallows release on 21st July, 2007. I read it in 5 hours as soon as I got it at midnight. In one word, fantastic. Just don't talk to me about that epilogue!
Joaquin - That is all.
Missing - Madeleine McCann was the topic of discussion for the whole country.
Musicals - From Hairspray to Across The Universe via Once, the good old fashioned song-along film is back! Roll on Sweeney Todd!
Oscars - This year was the very first time I was allowed to stay up and watch the live show! It may have been one of the most predictable years in a long time, but I loved that buzz (and the next day off school!) and hope to repeat it. Just don't let Celine Dion sing again.
Politics - Gordon Brown is in, a lot of people are out and Tommy Sheridan made us all laugh. All in all, as confusing as ever.
Pregnancies - From the obvious (Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera) to the shocks (Lily Allen and Jamie Lynn Spears), pregnancies were everywhere. Good luck to all the girls and here's to some beautiful babies.
Rabbits - Rainbows of adorable play-doh bunnies filled New York to the Rolling Stones thanks to the Sony Bravia advert. Filmed entirely in stop motion, not only is it beautiful, it's a moving work of art. Quite simply, the happiest thing you'll ever see.

Racism - Celebrity Big Brother, surely a sign that evolution has taken a step back, was showered in controversy after Shilpa Shetty was the victim of racial remarks made by the neanderthal Jade Goody and the cackling losers whose names I have forgotten. It sickens me that in this day and age, stuff like this is not only allowed to happen, but filmed for the world to see! Ban all reality TV!
Reality TV - When did real programmes become extinct? My mother loves this sort of garbage so I had to put up with it. The X Factor is excruciating and I think the whole lot of these shows should be banned from the face of the earth. It's human bear baiting and doesn't deserve a place in the 21st century.
School - It did take up a large part of my life. Only a few more months to go. I don't know whether I'm happy or not about that.
Simpsons - The best TV show ever made went to the big screen and was met by middling reviews. I loved every second so much, I saw it twice! Sure, it's just one long episode, but I laughed a lot. Spiderpig now has a special place in my heart.
Tears - From exam stress to Atonement, from bullying jerks to overall unhappiness, I cried a lot. Yes, i'm a great big pansy but I'm a girl so it's okay.
UCAS - The devil! It was horribly stressful and I wanted to strangle it! On the bright side - 4 Unconditional offers!
University - It beckons. *Twilight Zone music*
Weird - INLAND EMPIRE. It contained a sitcom with rabbits, prostitutes doing the locomotion, sexy Justin Theroux not doing a whole lot and the phenomenal Laura Dern. The plot made no sense whatsoever, it was 3 hours long and my gran hates me for making her see it. Just another David Lynch movie then...
Work - I got a job in a pet shop. I enjoy it, except for waking up early on a Saturday, and love having money to spend but don't have an opportunity to really spend it. Although it is rather clear to many people that I'm not very good at my job. Bloody plecs!
Xmas! - Have a great one everybody!

"You scumbag, you maggot!"

Nothing gets me in the Christmas mood more than The Pogues song "Fairytale of New York." Forget the stupid censorship rubbish, forget the other cliched and super-cheesy songs that come out this season and knick the X Factor out of your head. This is the best Christmas song ever!

Empire Magazine's 25 Movies of the Year.

Empire Magazine is still the best movie magazine out there, even though their 100 Sexiest list still makes me cringe. They have slightly redeemed theirselves now with their favourite films of 2007. I think this is a good example of why Empire is so good. The films I have seen are in italics.)

25. Venus

24. A Prairie Home Companion

23. 2 Days In Paris

22. Michael Clayton

21. Sunshine

20. Babel

19. Waitress

18. Once

17. The Fountain

16. Lions For Lambs

15. This Is England

14. Notes On A Scandal

13. INLAND EMPIRE

12. Control

11. Letters From Iwo Jima

10. Half Nelson

9. Knocked Up

8. Hot Fuzz

7. Superbad

6. Zodiac

5. The Assassination Of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

4. Ratatouille

3. Atonement

2. The Lives of Others

1. The Bourne Ultimatum

It isn't a snobby or pretentious list, these are critics who aren't afraid to admit they like the sillier things in life, as well as the undiscovered gems (how many film lists out there have number 23 on them?) Of course, UK is always a year behind with some films so that's whysome of the Oscar contenders are here. I am very surprised by the number 1 film, which I have not seen yet, but it's a great choice as a lot of my friends loved it. While I haven't seen that many films this year, I will be taking these recommendations and watching them next year.

New Year Resolutions.

1. Lose weight. Go back to a size 10 and stay there! No more Coca Cola, no more chips at lunchtime, no more snacking. Drink 2 pints of water a day and only one sugar in tea.

2. Walk the dog every night and always pick him up from grandparents' after school.

3. Keep room clean.

4. Read at least a book a week, no excuses (only excuse that will be accepted is exam revision). These books must either be from the 1001 books you should read before you die, gifts from friends, or books for the B&C book club.

5. Pass all 4 advanced highers with at least a B. In order to achieve this, the following rules will be undertaken -
* One hour a night homework. If homework does not take up the entire hour, then extra vocabulary for French will be included. All homework will be done as soon as it has been given.
* Work will be done in all of free periods, excluding my personal frees.
* Lots of French speaking revision. All French essays will be rewritten in a neater, more easy to read copy.
* Finish all dissertations (and they'll be bloody good).
* Read as many sources as possible for said dissertation in R.S.
* Above comment may also apply to English dissertation, although it is not as important. Complete attention will be paid in all classes.

6. Computer time will be alloted to a schedule which will not be broken for any circumstances. Blog will be updated at least twice a week and articles will be interesting, thought provoking, a demonstration of my slightly good writing skills and perving kept to a minimum if at all possible.

7. Proper writing will also be continued. A 100,000 word story will be written before September and it will be bloody good. If there is enough time before university, the story will be copied and posted onto FictionPress.com.

8. 100% Effort will be put into working in Pet's Pantry. All money earned whilst working will be saved for cinema trip once a month.

9. Spend as much time as possible with sister before university. Help with homework.

10. Wake up as soon as told.

11. Widen both film and music horizons. No more complaining about Radio 1 even though they are crap. In fact, no more Radio 1.

The Best Movie Of The Year.

The Coward Robert Ford

With the announcement of the Screen Actors Guild award nominations today, I thought I should pay homage to one of the front runners for Best Supporting Actress. It's hardly professional (there's only so much one can do with Paint) and the title is very long, but it's great to see the younger Affleck brother a.k.a. Mr Summer Phoenix, getting some recognition after a great year. It's between him and Javier Bardem right now and i'd be ecstatic to see either win.

20 Songs of the Year

As usual, my musical tastes vary from the pretty damn good to the atrocious. While this year produced the hideously 4-syllabled 'Umbrella' and that bore of a 'producer' Mark Ronson (I use the word producer loosely because adding a horn section to every bloody song does not make you a good producer), I also properly discuvered Rufus Wainwright, Regina Spektor, Feist, Scott Matthews, Mika, and many many more.
In alphabetical order:

Adele - Chasing Pavements
Amy Winehouse- Tears Dry On Their Own
Bjork - Earth Intruders
Emmy Rossum - Slow Me Down
Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's A Goddamn Arm's Race
Feist - 1234
The Hoosiers - Goodbye Mr A
Jack Penate - Torn On The Platform
Justin Timberlake - LoveStoned
Kanye West - Stronger
KT Tunstall - Saving My Face
Mika - Happy Ending
Mika - Love Today
My Chemical Romance - Mama
Robyn - With Every Heartbeat
Rufus Wainwright - Between My Legs
Rufus Wainwright - Going To A Town
Scott Matthews - Elusive
Thirty Seconds To Mars - The Kill
The View - The Don

How was your musical year?
Here is Elusive by Scott Matthews. It's even prettier live.

6 days to go...

More festive activities in the Shiny Happy Household.

My little vain sister with the tree. It does have fairy lights but they only flash on every 2 seconds so I couldn't get it on properly. And I don't know how to turn it the right way up.

I got in!

It arrived today while I was browsing the net for geography. One unconditional offer to study Celtic and English literature at Edinburgh University!

I nearly died when I saw the offer! My heart was racing and I was afraid it would give way. I haven't stopped smiling all day and feel so good about myself for once in my life! Talk about a great early Xmas present!

My own FYC...

2nd or 3rd best movie of the year (haven't decided whether or not I like it more than Hairspray)

Girls of the year

2007 has been a pretty damn good year for me. I've lst some stuff but gained so much more - friends, university offers, more articulate abilities in reviewing things and a much deeper understanding of the little things. Also i know the difference between a teleological and ontological argument. Go ahead and ask! But it was also a good year for the girls. Here are the women i really loved:

Nikki Blonsky -

A couple of years ago, the short and sweet Miss Blonsky was working in an ice-cream parlour. Now she's one of my most loved actresses of this year. Her performance as pleasantly plump Tracy Turnblad in the fantastic musical Hairspray was nothing short of complete joy. Every moment she was on screen, bellowing that amazing voice and dancing like a star, I couldn't take my eyes off her. If Tracy doesn't bring a smile to your face with her big heart and even bigger hair, there's no point in you watching musicals. Now she's nominated for a Golden Globe and I so want a huge career for her. It shouldn't matter that she's a big girl. As Mika says, they are beautiful.

Angelina Jolie -

In the battle of Jolie/Aniston, I have always been a firm supporter of the former. Voted number 1 in Empire's otherwise meaningless 100 Sexiest list, Miss Jolie proved that freaks rule. She's always been odd and therein lies her appeal. Even with half the paparazzi following her every move, she retains an air of quite grace and dignity. The media frenzy that follows her often forgets to make light of her talent. She is a great actress, proven this year by A Mighty Heart. There was a performance you could see came straight from the heart. Add to that, her Golden Globe nomination, countless good deeds for the UN and Wanted's release next year (I saw a trailer last night), she won't be going anywhere!

Freema Agyeman -

In short, the superior Doctor's assistant. She was much better than Rose who i have despised from the get go. Instead of letting the Doctor come and save her like some sort of bleeding knight, Martha Jones could handle things herself and, in the last episode of the series, did just that and had me cheering like a loon. To see her go so prematurely is a travesty. And the news that Rose is coming back (from the parallel universe that they said was IMPOSSIBLE to get back from) is like rubbing salt on Freema's wounds. Luckily she'll be back for a few episodes, then appearing in Torchwood. After that, she deserves the best!

Feist -

Oh how i wish there had never been an iPod advert! Nobody believes me when i say i had heard of her before that ad (I saw her on MTV2) so sadly I am stuck as being a newbie fan. The Reminder is one of the best albums of the year (beaten only by Mr Wainwright) and is completely spellbinding. I recommend My Moon My Man to everybody. The fact that she has been nominated for a Best Newcomer Grammy shows how stupid certain people are. Don't let her be forgotten!

Saoirse Ronan -

Another Golden Globe nominee and for good reason! Why oh why is Ikea Knightley getting the lion's share of acclaim for Atonement when Miss Ronan is clearly the best in the film? She made Briony human and sympathetic (something she isn't in the book) and those eyes are hauntingly beautiful. Good child stars are few and far between so it's refreshing to see Saoirse getting notice and for good roles. Next up for her is The Lovely Bones. A book I despised but a film I will see for her.

11 days to go...

So far it's been a good Xmas build up. sure, i have way too much school work, and i'm going psychotic waiting for Edinburgh to get back to me but i'm feeling rather seasonal - unusual for me!
I've received a few gifts and cards which is lovely. Last year i got one present from a friend and it made my self esteem plummet to the depths of the earth. It feels weird knowing this is my last Xmas at school with my friends and it's getting me a bit down, but i'm going to make it the best Xmas yet!
A friend of mine got 2 unconditional offers so i am ecstatic for her!
I spent an R.S. lesson with my class looking at Empire's atrocious 100 Sexiest list and laughing at it. My teacher was great because he would make slightly inappropriate comments about women he liked ("Angelina Jolie is perfect!" "Salma Hayek - now we're talking!").
My article was published! Bad news: They got my name wrong!
And I'm going to see We Own The Night tonight with my dad! Finally, a new Joaquin movie, it feels like years since i've seen him in the cinema (it's just over 18 months). I hope my dad doesn't laugh about me watching him and getting all goofy and grinning like i apparently do. But he is paying for the ticket! We went to see 300 together which was too embarassing for words. When Gerard Butler and Lena Hedley started having ultra slow motion sex and her nipples started jiggling, all i could think was "I knew i should have just let my dad stay at home and watch the footie!"
I shall leave you now with one of my current favourite songs, sung by The Papercranes!

Golden Globe Nominations!

It's officially the start of the 2007/8 Awards season with today's Golden Globe nominations. I'll do the TV ones later.
I've put my choices to win in italics and my preferred winner in bold.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
American Gangster
Atonement
Eastern Promises
The Great Debaters
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Actress - Drama
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Jodie Foster - The Brave One
Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley - Atonement

Best Actor - Drama
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Lewis - There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy - Atonement
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Denzel Washington - American Gangster

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Across The Universe
Charlie Wilson's War
Hairspray
Juno
Sweeney Todd

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams - Enchanted
Nikki Blonsky - Hairspray
Helena Bonham Carter - Sweeney Todd
Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page - Juno

Best Actor - Musical Or Comedy
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
Ryan Gosling - Lars and the Real Girl
Tom Hanks - Charlie Wilson's War
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Savages
John C. Reilly - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
John Travolta - Hairspray
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Julia Roberts - Charlie Wilson's War
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Director
Tim Burton - Sweeney Todd
Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Ridley Scott - American Gangster
Joe Wright - Atonement

Best Screenplay
Diablo Cody - Juno
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Christopher Hampton - Atonement
Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
Aaron Sorkin - Charlie Wilson's War

Best Foreign Language Film
4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days (Romania)
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (France, United States)
The Kite Runner (United States)
Lust, Caution (Taiwan)
Persepolis (France)

Best Animated Feature Film
Bee Movie
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

Best Original Score
Into the Wild
Grace is Gone
The Kite Runner
Atonement
Eastern Promises

Best Original Song
"Despedida" - Love in the Time of Cholera
"Grace is Gone" - Grace is Gone
"Guaranteed" - Into the Wild
"That's How You Know" - Enchanted
"Walk Hard" - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

It's a good spread of films this year. My guess is No Country For Old Men will de exceptionally well all the way to the Oscars. It's popular with both audiences and critics and you can't go very wrong with the Coens. Good to see the magnificent Saoirse Ronan up for Supporting Actress although i don't think Keird deserves her nomination. She was good but not that good. I do realise i have highlighted 2 actors for Supporting Actor but i love them both and wish they could share it. Currently i see Bardem getting it but Affleck is building up a lot of momentum and is apparently the scene stealer of the movie. Lewis and Christie, the old favourites, will get the acting awards although a small part of me is wishing ever so hard for an Atonement sweep (not counting Knightley). In the comedy/musical categories, i am so happy to see such a great selection. I adored both Hairspray (my girl Blonsky is there!) and Across The Universe, have nothing but joy to see Juno up there (get a UK release date damnit!) and await Sweeney Todd withg excited cheers. I always thought Charlie Wilson's War would be a drama, but Aaron Sorkin is a funny guy (my friend is a West Wing addict so loves this). But where is Once? It was so popular, i'm surprised at it's omission. I can't properly judge this year's selection until i've seen them all but it's a much less dissapointing year compared to last year where it was all a little too obvious. What do you think?

"Alright children. Let's shake some dust..."

Most of my time that I usually devote to film viewings has been taken over at this current moment by TV shows. Here are the 3 shows I am currently obsessed with...

Rome

While it may be way too sexual for some tastes (even my perverted self thought it a little over-the-top) Rome is nothing short of amazing TV. HBO are geniuses in the field of addictive TV. I watched the first season of this on DVD and as soon as the last episode finished, I was begging for the 2nd series boxset. The show gives you an insight into what it may have been like when Julius Caesar started his campaign for emperor of Rome. The Roman era was so fascinating and utterly bonkers that you have trouble believing a lot of it's real. Luckily HBO have kept the majority of the facts on the screen and only enhanced the tone of the show by adding a few small subplots, such as Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd from Trainspotting) and Titus Pullo (a fantastic Ray Stevenson). Each actor is wonderful in their roles, my personal favourite being Polly Walker as Atia, a bitch for the ages. Sadly the show was cancelled after season 2, but it's still worth getting your hands on, especially if you love the era.

Carnivale

Another show unfairly cancelled after 2 seasons, Carnivale is both frustrating and spellbinding. Warning, don't even bother watching this show if you are impatient or don't like being left hanging. Empire Magazine described it as John Steinbeck meets Stephen King which doesn't begin to say how wonderful Carnivale is. Set during the American depression, Ben Hawkins (the adorable Nick Stahl) is an unusual boy with healing powers he sees as a curse. After his mother dies, he joins the Carnivale, a travelling show full of the weird and wonderful. He constantly has disturbing dreams, warning him of the past, present and future he must stop. At the same time, Brother Justin (Clancy Brown from The Shawshank Redemption) also begins to exhibit powers, which he sees as a sign from God to do his work. They well both meet soon...but when? What will happen? I can't say anymore because it will spoil the show. It's so underrated and, like Rome, full of fantastic characters none of which are like anything else on TV (a beared lady, a tarot reader and her invalid psychic mother, the mysterious Management, a cooch show). The only problem is that the very last episode of the show ends on such a climax and it was never resolved due to cancellation. I can't tell you how many hours i've wasted on the net looking for answers. Watch this show, if only for the most beautiful opening credits i have ever seen...

Bones

Described on the DVD box as "A sexed up CSI" Bones is one of the most underrated crime shows on TV. Based (loosely) on the Temperance Brennan books by Kathy Reichs, the show follows Brennan (gorgeous Emily Deschanel, sister of Zooey) a forensic anthropologist who can solve murders by looking at the bones of victims. Seely Booth (David Boreanez) is the FBI agent she works with who takes a more psychological approach to his work. What really makes this show so addictive is the chemistry between Brennan and Booth, it's so believable that i worry for Emily and David's partners. The CSI comparisons are annoying and nowhere near accurate. Yes, the show is very Hollywood and polished but it has all the ingrediants of a great drama. The characters are believable and sympathetic, even when the story gets a bit silly (Zach Addy is too cute for words). The laughs and emotion are perfectly balanced (I both laughed myself silly and cried for hours after watching 'The Man in the Fallout Shelter') while the scripts are imaginative and quotable for hours. Even Stephen Fry turns up in the 2nd season! That's a sign of quality. Luckily this show is still going and, while the new girl annoys me, i hope it will show for years to come.

I'm looking for more shows to get addicted to and am welcoming all suggestions. I'm currently thinking of buying these series:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Angel

Firefly

Arrested Development

Boston Legal

The Sopranos

A Town Called Eureka

Flight of the Conchords

Keep watching TV, it may melt your brain but it's still great!

I won't dance!

I got out of social dancing! For those who do not know what this out-of-date practice is, let me inform you. Every year, my school is forced for 3 days to take part in Scottish Country dancing. But what makes it worse is that the boy has to go up to a girl and ask her to dance.

I have despised the very thought of this for many years now for several reasons. One, it's clearly sexiest and chauvenistic. Women did not fight for years to have the same rights as men just so they could be asked to do the bloody Gay Gordons. All the boys in my school are jerks, except for a few friends of mine, and i hate that they're forced to do this. It's obvious what will happen - the pretty girls go first, then the okay ones, then people like me are left on their own until a guy is forced to dance with them or they have to dance with a teacher (one of the PE teachers in my school is a pervert who calls the girls 'babe' and tries to touch them up). One year i had to dance with this guy i didn't know who didn't know me either. As soon as the song ended, he pulled away his hands, wiped them down his jersey and called me a mink. It was humiliating and took all my strength not to run off crying.

Two, what year are we in? The reason they give us this stupid excuse for a lesson is that the teachers believe 'it will help to develop social skills that will be valuable in our futures.' My friend Petsa summed this up perfectly. "The only time you'll need to know these dances is when you go to parties where people are so drunk anyway that they won't be able to remember the correct moves." So it's pointless. I don't go to parties and i don't know anyone who goes to parties where they need to dance like this. I realise the irony in being called Kayleigh and having to learn Ceilidh dances (it's the Gaelic variation of my name) but i still don't see why i should have to dance. If the school wanted us to learn useful social skills, they should have dropped us off in a student union bar.

Three, the hypocrisy. The jerks in charge of my school (known as the SMT) have been banging on about how we should go to all our classes, do all our homework and set a good example of hard working students. Yet they drag us out of class to do this!? I am the only person in my entire school taking 4 advanced highers and i can't afford to give up valuable class time to bloody padee bah! I'm under enough stress as it is without having to put this humiliation into it. The SMT decided that if you didn't dance, you would get detention with the possibility of exclusion!

So i told my mum how i felt and she agreed, as did my dad. So my mother phoned the school and ended up on the phone with one of the SMT. What ensued was a screaming match that i sadly missed. This bitch basically made me out to be a crybaby. My mum flipped and decided to bring into the ring how i don't get treated like a proper 6th year. It's true, i'm basically a 2nd class citizen to them because i'm not a prefect, i don't kiss their arses and i'm not a teacher's child. Of the 8 senior prefects in my year (the head boy, head girl, deputy, and so on), 4 are children of teachers. These people were given the jobs after being invited to a interview for the position by guess who...the SMT! SMT lady told my mum thjis wasn't true and more screaming ensued. But the good news is that i don't have to dance.

You may think i made a big fuss out of nothing. But i have the right to not be treated like scum. I have the right to not be embarassed and to do my work without any fuss. I want my advanced highers, so i can walk up to the SMT on the last day of school and spit in their faces.

Is that all?

I was given my topic to write my article on for the newspaper - ID cards - which I was happy to do, until I found out it was only going to be 50 words.

That isn't an article, it's barely an introduction. I can't put across a point in that short word count. Here's my best try and it's still 35 words too long...

While I do think something should be done to tackle the problem of the so-called 'yob culture' ID cards is not the way to do it. What about the teenagers who aren't happy slapping neds? Why punish all of us for the minority's actions? And who says that it's all the kids' fault? Some people are just to quick to point fingers. If ID cards become a reality - which they will, I don't doubt - then everybody should all get them, not just us.

Any good?

It's fun to be a geek.

Tonight was parent's night at school and I am all glowing with smugness. Not one bad comment (except for my slight problem with bringing trashy magazines into RS class but that's not important). I was even called 'star pupil' by my lovely English teacher. It's got me feeling really sad that soon i'll be leaving all my lovely teachers who have helped me for years, like my French teacher who i've had almost all of my high school life. Without her, I would never have gotten an A. It'll be weird being away, i'm still dreading it but I can't wait for the challenge.

On a more Christmassy note, I received a card from America today that came with a CD of songs. One of them was Zooey Deschanel singing "Baby It's Cold Outside" which is great. Not only is she pretty, talented and Brennan from Bones' sister, she can sing! Unfortunately, the only clip i could get on YouTube was from Elf with Will Ferrell who I despise. Just ignore him.

That's sexy?!?!?!

Empire Magazine's 100 sexiest movie stars list went up tonight and it's safe to say i am one pissed off fangirl.

Not only was there no Joaquin Phoenix (he was number 62 last year), Zac Efron, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe all made the list! How the hell did the jail bait become considered sexier than Mr Phoenix, one of the most smouldering, mysterious, utterly gorgeous men walking the movie planet? Did they only open the poll to under 21s? Daniel Radcliffe isn't even the sexiest guy in the Harry Potter movies! And while I can't argue much with the number 1 choice (I love Angelina Jokie but it's a bit predictable), i just can't believe that my multiple voting meant crap. Overall the list isn't that great (Radcliffe over Dean, Brando, Ryan Gosling?) and my fangirlness will be pissed off for days now. And don't even get me started on Reese 'Mega Chin' Witherspoon and Megan 'Hooker' Fox making it...

How is this not sexy enough?

21 days til Xmas...

My mother is feeling festive and put up our Christmas Tree 2 days ago. I'd put up a picture but my camera is broken. I also received my first present! My lovely friend Rob sent me The first season of The Dresden Files on DVD and the Across The Universe soundtrack (I haven't opened them yet but he told me what they were - i got him Arrested Development season 3). So far a good haul!
Today i got my picture taken for the Perthshire Advertiser. It's a local paper that not many people read but the best thing about it is that i will be writing an article in it once a month! Since i want to be a writer, this is the best way to get my stuff out, even if it's on a topic that they choose. Now why do they give me this stuff after i've submitted my personal statement? This would have looked spectacular on it. Still no word from Edinburgh...

24 days to go.

Today is the first day of the countdown to Xmas. Since Emma has a better countdown (free music! http://zummer.blogspot.com ) i thought i would just show the way i get into the seasonal spirit. Today i felt truly Christmassy because my sister and i got to open our Advent calendars (I may be 17 but i never refuse chocolate). In true geek tradition, we chose Doctor Who ones!

(My sister is very very vain!)