Three brothers

I absolutely adored this scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - it was creepy, beautiful, haunting and so well-drawn. In it I caught a little glimpse of what the Harry Potter films could have been like if, well, they'd tried. Such such a shame (I'm in fervent hopes they'll remake them in twenty or thirty years time...). Nevertheless, watching things like this makes me desperately nostalgic for Harry Potter - I think a reading marathon is definitely in the cards for when I return home.

 

 

 

Give me some more time in a dream

Continuing with my incredibly sporadic attempts at style blogging. Until I become less awkward don't expect to see my face. I've tried outfit photos many many a time with an actual camera but each time the framing looks crooked, the lighting harsh and the clothes themselves nondescript. I'm a huge fan of this modern sort of photo-taking - webcams, Instagram and the like: they soften reality and don't rely on any actual, well, artistic talent. Thank God. On the minus side, webcam photos are incredibly reminiscent of angsty teenage girls taking a thousand new Facebook profile pictures. I guess I'll have to balance out this unfortunate association with my übercool wit...

Dress, New Look. Cardigan, Dorothy Perkins. Charm bracelet, Accesorize.

She moves in her own way

On the new Facebook profile there's a section you can fill out where you list your most inspirational people. Mine's blank at the moment, but if ever I were to start, I know who I would put immediately: JK Rowling (yep...still a child) and Tavi Gevinson. It's maybe a little odd having someone younger than yourself be a role model, especially seeing as how I'm not so old anyway. But I find Tavi absolutely inspiring and a remarkable young women, both in her awesomely cool style, her attitude, the boldness with which she writes and the unparalleled work she's done for teenage girls and young women the world over. I may be out of the key demographic by three or four years, but I still read her webzine Rookie every night before sleeping, and I still find it incredibly empowering. Basically, she's a very cool chick - which is why I was so excited to find this editorial floating around my Tumblr. Isn't it lovely? I need to steal those dresses somehow.

Source, photography by Petra Collins and Tavi Gevinson

But the most special are the most lonely

Regina Spektor has released a new album and all that I've heard so far is simply gorgeous. I always get a little nervous when an artist I like releases something new. What if it doesn't live up to the previous material? Or more specifically, what if the identity, the emotions they created in their previous album aren't present in this one? Luckily though, she seems to be the same as ever, beautiful, unique and poignant. Love her.



First there's lights out, then there's lock up
Masterpieces serving maximum sentences
It's their own fault for being timeless
There's a price to pay, and a consequence
All the galleries and museums
"Here's your ticket, welcome to the tombs"
They're just public mausoleums -
The living dead fill every room 

"If we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it"

Like much of the world, I'm on a bit of an Avengers high at the moment. I've seen it twice - once in French and once in English - and am seriously considering how lame it would be to go again. And again. When I was younger I went through a phase of absolutely hating superhero movies - I think mostly due to the Spiderman trilogy and how incredibly shite it was. The Avengers however succeeds the way other superhero films never seem to, by being both mind-blowingly, awe-inspiringly epic and also strangely relatable and human. This is mostly due to its rather unusual concept: rather than being the now rather clichéd story of a lone outsider (usually a geeky young boy who as soon as he takes off his glasses turns into a fully-fledged hunk) trying to come to terms with who he is, The Avengers features a whole team of superheroes, each with wildly different powers and backgrounds who come together to defeat a super-badass. By putting them all on an equal footing, the dynamic between the characters becomes far more interesting and unique - you really get the impression that you're in their world, rather than the other way around.

Plus they're all just awesome. Robert Downey Jr, long term love of my life, seems born to play the cool, cocky, witty Ironman who strikes up frequent tension with the selfless, slightly lost Captain America (Chris Evans). Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as Thor, remaining as charming and, despite his burly physique, sweet as ever. Mark Ruffalo is heart breaking as Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk), a damaged, vulnerable, self-loathing scientist whose volatile alter ego has the power to make or break the team. Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner round off the troupe, sizzling with chemistry, while the frankly amazing Tom Hiddleston portrays Loki, the deranged, unbalanced yet somehow incredibly adorable antagonist, intent on taking over the world. While the special effects are breathtaking (when the Helicarrier rose out of the sea: dude) it's the relationships and interactions between the characters that truly makes the film. They go from being fractured, isolated and mistrusting individuals to a real team. With incredible direction (what else can you expect from Joss Whedon), a great score by Alan Silvestri, and a tight, brilliantly witty script, this is not a film to be missed. Believe the hype people.

 

 

 

 

 

(Also, quite frankly, everyone in the film is gorgeous. I'm struggling to decide which of them - including Scarlett Johannson - is the most attractive. Still undecided.)

Bend and stretch

How incredible is this video? I absolutely adore ballet, like practically every single little girl I did a bit when I was younger but just didn't have the stamina to carry it through (shocking, I know). Nowadays I can only enjoy it as a spectator but it's still pretty magnificent. Thus far I've only been to see the very classic ballets - think Tchaikovsky and tutus - but this video shows the more physical, demanding side of it that's often glossed over. Imagine how strong and supple you have to be to do half of what they do...

Let me keep this memory, just this one

Clementine: Joely?
Joel: Yeah, Tangerine?

Clementine: Am I ugly?

Joel: Uh-huh.
Clementine: When I was a kid, I thought I was. I can't believe I'm crying already. Sometimes I think people don't understand how lonely it is to be a kid, like you don't matter. So I'm eight, and I have these toys, these dolls. My favourite is this ugly girl doll who I call Clementine, and I keep yelling at her: "You can't be ugly! Be pretty!" It's weird, like if I could transform her I would magically change too.