April 2010

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Spotlight on Earth vs. The Wild Heart

April 22, 2010 in Spotlight | 4 comments

So! I’m starting a regular spotlight on my favourite fellow bloggers and a profile on what makes them tick, what inspires them and where they can be found when not tapping away at a keyboard in blogland. I couldn’t do this feature without starting off by spotlighting with my blog bff Kate – otherwise known as Earth vs. The Wild Heart. Kate was a key inspiration in me taking the plunge with likeaskeletonkey and is a constant source of support and ideas and all round sass!

Introducing….

1. When did you start your blog & why?
I started this blog in October 2009. Prior to that, I had kept various other blogs over the web – including another one on WordPress much like this one called Terminal Twelve that met it’s demise shortly before I started Earth Vs. I was in the middle of moving both house and job, and knowing that I’d have a lot more time on my hands to wear my own wardrobe because I was cutting my commute right down and wasn’t working from 5am-10:30pm anymore, I wanted to document it as much as possible – as well has places I’d been, music I love and parts of my everyday life.

2. What inspired you in terms of content/theme/appearence?
Not long before I started Earth Vs., I’d been reading The Clothes Horse blog from front to back. It was literally my bible. It called me to create my own blog similar to it – I thought that maybe, out there somewhere, somebody might like to look at my uncertain British high street style and my humble little life. So, content was easy. I wanted to focus on my big loves, mainly personal style, life, love, music, creativity, fitness, photography, travel – that’s a lot of love to give, and they all need an outlet! Other than that, everything else is really mundane. My theme is a bog-standard WordPress theme (called Unsleepable) which I pay something silly like £7 a year to modify. A very worthy silly, that is! And the name Earth Vs. The Wild Heart comes almost literally from the title of a Wildhearts album. Sometimes I feel very unimaginative about that but I am a bit of a wild ‘heart’ and sometimes feel that the world is against me, so at least it’s pretty apt!

3. How would you describe your blog in three words?
Pure rock ‘n’ roll! Haha, okay, maybe not. I aspire for it to be ‘punky, unpredictable & engaging’ but it’s not that at all – definitely more ‘progressing, scattered & British’. Very British! I’m proud to be a British blogger in a blogging world (especially in the personal style category) that features a lot of American ladies and would secretely (& sometimes shamelessly) love to ‘break through’ and be a super cool Brit. There aren’t enough of us Brit chicks on the fashion blogging scene!

4. What do you love (/if anything hate) about your blog?
I totally love this little space I’ve created that’s all mine and I can talk about the things I like. I love that, for the first time since my first LiveJournal, it’s something I’ve stuck at. I have 70 posts now, which is quite the achievement for me! I love the way it’s kind of made me look at life too – instead of eyes down to the pavement, I will look at what’s around me to find new inspirations or things to do or places to go. It’s made be braver too – last week, for the first time, I took all my camera gear out with me and did an outfit shoot at a park a mile away for me. A big step! The only gripe I have, which is not with my blog but with blogging in general, is the constant battles and mindchanging I have just trying to make it better, perfect even. I’m quite fussy and am one of these people that would sit and figure out all my categories, weekly features, everything before I even started a blog. And sometimes I wonder whether I set up on the right platform. I love WordPress for it’s ease to use and have always had public blogs on here, but Blogger allows you to play with the entire layout (WordPress only let’s you play with just the CSS if you pay). I’d really love for that individuality. I do wonder if I should just start up afresh but I’d be scared of losing everything. This is all part of the journey though and I think I will be on WordPress to stay! Lastly (whee, a lot of gripes) I always worry whether my real-life friends will find it. I’m not terribly secretive about it – I won’t go shouting it from the rooftops but the link it on my Twitter which a couple of my friends use – but I just worry that they’d find it really vain and uninteresting. My boyfriend knows I blog and he just doesn’t get it unless I write about fitness (or him, of course) but that’s it. It’s all silly really because I’d love to know if any of my girlfriends blog, whatever they talked about. I’d definitely read theirs and be supportive and love a different insight into their lives.

5. What makes you the most happy and most sad?
So, so, so cheesy by living with Phil (my boyfriend) makes me most happiest. You could serve me up the most distressing day, and literally just knowing that when I get home he is there all ready for a cuddle and a chat settles everything inside. I don’t think he knows how much I appreciate him, because I always go on about how much he annoys me (well, only sometimes) but he truly is the love of my life. My best friend, even! Apart from the obvious, kittens, penguins, that scary-but-exciting feeling I get when I’m on a plane at take off, simple sunny picnics, that painful delirious glee I get when I get a new personal best on a run, and a good cup of tea are all enough to make me happy. Sadness basically equals getting called into work on my day off at short notice. It ruins all my little plans and adventures and seems to always happen when I’m off to meet up with old college or work mates that I haven’t seen for ages. Sometimes, being an assistant store manager sucks!

6. Who is behind Earth vs The Wild Heart?
As just mentioned, I am an assistant store manager (in training) at the nationwide coffee chain store I work at, just outside the M25. I live just inside, and my commute is a lovely 5-mile cycle – really enjoyable in this beautiful weather we’ve got right now! I adore cycling but my big love is with running, it makes me feel the kind-of good-about-myself I never imagined I could feel. I used to be a city girl (the capital, in fact) but have got used to my almost-countryside surroundings way too easily. I feel like I belong here. I’m 22 years old, and music has been a humungo part of my life since I was about 16 and discovered both Napster and emo. What a combination! I used to dress in all black with chains and listen to Slipknot and Papa Roach, but I’d like to think my taste is much better now – if a little varied! My favourite bands are The Wildhearts, Rise Against, Rilo Kiley, Metric, Frank Turner / Million Dead, Rocket From The Crypt, The Go! Team and way too many more to mention! I love to write and dabble in photography, play guitar and sing my little heart out when no-one’s around, plan travel trips I never get to go on, and be a general sort-of roadie/photographer/supporter to my boyfriend’s (& four of my best friends’) band, The Separation.

7. What is the best fact you know? This is definitely the most useless fact of all time but it always makes me giggle: in 207 BC, a Greek philosopher called Chrysippus literally laughed himself to death after watching his drunken donkey attempt to eat figs. The image that portrays in my mind is hilarious! I read the List Of Unusual Deaths on Wikipedia ages ago and got that one – in fact, most of Anquity and Middle Ages sections are quite fascinating, if not a little funny.

8. Which others blogs do you feast on?
I read a tonne of blogs! Apart from the ones I’ve already mentioned, some of the blogs I read every day without fail and try to show my support on every single post are Selective Potential, Strawberry Koi, Delightfully Tacky, Afeitar, and Where Is Harriet?. & lest I ever forget, you! I also love reading ModCloth’s blog ModLife, and JOY’s store blog is full of wicked style. Last but by no means least, I have to have Aimee Marie’s blog open at least once a day. She’s an absolute gem of a girl! (Add these to your reader stat:)
Selective Potential – http://selectivepotential.blogspot.com
Strawberry Koi – http://strawberrykoi.blogspot.com
Delightfully Tacky – http://delightfully-tacky.com
Afeitar – http://afeitar.blogspot.com
Where Is Harriet? – http://whereisharriet.blogspot.com
JOY – http://blog.joythestore.com
ModLife – http://blog.modcloth.com
Aimee Marie – http://aimeemarie.com/blog

9. What is your all time favourite outfit?
I don’t think any stand out and hope my best outfits are yet to come, but I really love this look I achieved with an outfit I had in January - just the sort of punky, folky style I really want to build upon and I think it portrays me perfectly.

10. What are your plans to make this the best summer ever?
Getting my driving license! I’ve taken two dire tests, so I’m hoping for a third time lucky. It would make road tripping even better as I feel totally guilty shoving all of the driving on Phil. I’m going to Ireland with Phil and our best mates, one of whom is Irish herself and we’re going to have a cycling holiday in the south-west later on in the summer. I hope to fill my other days off full of long walks and picnics – I’m really looking forward to the promised amazing British summer, this year!

Tags: Bloggers, Earth vs The Wild Heart, Interview, Kate, Spotlight

Paper Aeroplanes

April 14, 2010 in Music | 1 comment

About five years ago now, a friend made me a mix CD. And somewhere lurking at the very end was a track called Linen by a band called Halflight. It was the most beautiful song I had heard for years, and it quickly became #1 on my itunes most played list. It carried me through lonely Leeds winters and was like a hidden gem, shared and whispered between friends and family that I made future mix CDs for and always put this track first. I never really investigated anymore about the haunting voice behind the song and it just existed like a single perfect entity. And then something happened. My prehistoric desktop computer died after five years of moving house more often than getting a hair cut and being dropped in puddles on numerous occasions in the process (!) and with it my entire itunes and my music folder vanished.

Now it is 2010 and I am a different girl in a different place, and when lurking in the ailes of Rough Trade my eyes glinted at the site of the record artwork above. The photography was so breath-taking that I just had to know more (& I know, I know… never judge a book by it’s cover etc). A few clicks of spotify later and Paper Aeroplanes were lilting out of my monster headphones. After a couple of tracks I began to get that hot itchy feeling of recognising something but not knowing where from. Cogs in my brain whirred and the frustration nagged at me until I had the ! moment when I finally dredged the information from the back of my brain. The voice was the same as the one I had been completely enchanted by on the track Linen. From the very little information I could surf on the net, I could confirm that Paper Aeroplanes are indeed Halflight, with a fantastic new name!

It just seemed so odd that this band have suddenly made a comeback into my life, and through such a random discovery of just completely adoring the artwork on a random sleeve. I think this band are my soulmate? Or something! Even down to the fact that spiffy singer Sarah Howells wearing a dress on the cover that I used to own in bottle green but ripped beyond repair on a deserted-building break in (in the name of photography, not robbery. Honest guv)

Paper Aeroplanes are the most exciting musical discovery I have made this year. It makes it even sweeter that they are UK based and therefore hopefully easily enough to track down and see live sharpish! They have quickly become the soundtrack to my summer, my age and everything that is happening right now. Anyway luckily for me, aside from some amazing EPs and bits and pieces floating around, they have just released a whole entire new album called The Day We Ran Into The Sea which I have been gorging on. My favourite tracks are Lifelight and Newport Beach. Coming from Wales means the themes in the music are beaches, and love, and they are relatable. It makes a change from the American and Australian domination in my playlists. And my ultimate favourite track is Dance All Night which I cannot imagine ever tiring of. Although it is an up-tempo, chirpy number that will have you swaying your hips, the lyrics so accurately describe that heartbreak of clashing and grating against someone you love and it’s just unbearable. Sarah’s voice is just so absolutely sincere and everytime I hear this track, my heart cracks a little bit.

But I’d go dancing every night, if it made everything alright

Do you think that we’d still fight? When we’re dancing, dancing.

Because everything’s not black and white, when we’re dancing every night.

Maybe we’d forget to fight,? When we’re dancing, dancing.

I can’t wait to own a physical copy of this CD as soon as I have some pennies in the bank. The lack of information about them on the internet makes me frown and worry they aren’t getting the hype or recognition they deserve? Which would be tragic.

You can listen here
You can buy here

Tags: Favourite Things, Likes, Music, Music Recommendations, Paper Aeroplanes, To Do

Lars & The Real Girl (Is Real Good)

April 14, 2010 in Movies | 3 comments

When it comes to this film , I was a complete idiot. I let my phobia of internet-order dolls (ew!) allow me to write it off as something that was probably, definitely, not enjoy one bit. Add to this fact that until now Ryan Gosling had left me feeling a bit queasy (see: The Notebook) and it slid off the radar. Then my partner in Lovefilm crime added it to our list and it plopped onto my doormat and into the DVD player and WOW.

I think it is instantly in my top 10 films (don’t ask me for the other 9, or you will still be listening to me bleating on while your hair is slowly turning grey and skin wrinkling) so I just wanted to encourage you to get it on your amazon wishlist if you haven’t seen it yet.

The real miracle of this movie is how on earth do you make a film about a life-sized love doll, ordered from a shady internet sex site, into a life-affirming statement of promise and hope that all is good in the world?! I think the answer is that the film is completely sincere, which is just so rare nowadays. The entire cast are incredibly believable and quickly you feel almost part of the community in the small mid-west American town – faced with the same questions and initial fears which slowly dissolve with the story as you get to know the character of Lars. It is definitely a film that haunts you long after the credits roll, pestering you to question your attitudes and judgements. Other amazing things about the movie are: Ryan Goslings wardobe! Hot! Ski jackets, cords, gaudy knitted jumpers and bad moustache are the best.

I don’t know if the director is perhaps a fan of this film, but the concept and scenario reminded me of Harvey the 1950s movie about an enchanting alcoholic Elwood, who believes he is accompanied though life by an invisible 6ft rabbit. I think Elwood is my idol, everyone could do with living life more like him (apart from the raging booze habit part…) This quote just about sums it up and always makes me smile.

Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, “In this world, Elwood, you must be” – she always called me Elwood – “In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.

(This is probably also in my top 10 movies, fyi!)

Tags: Elwood P. Dowd, Favourite Things, Film Review, Harvey, Lars and The Real Girl, Movies, Ryan Gosling, To Do

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside.

April 12, 2010 in Day Tripping | 3 comments

The city I grew up in is the furthest possible point away from any coastline in the UK. When I was 10 they shipped in huge bags of sand and created a fake beach in the city centre, because they had done a survey and 72% of children had never been to the seaside. For this reason the seaside has a totally enchanting, magical, amazing quality to it and I still get a swarm of butterflies the second I spot the ocean on the horizon as I travel towards it.

My friends Ali & Craig (aka 3 is the magic number) and I made a decision that we would go to one coastal resort per month this summer; to get out of grizzly London and explore and get sand in our sandwiches and salty air in our lungs. The first location we selected was …….. Eastbourne! 1. Because it was only £13 a ticket and 2. Because my dad was born/bred there and I was eager to explore his hometown. The train from London goes from Charing Cross and takes about 2 hours, with one change in a little resort called St Leonards Warrior Square which didn’t make the best impression since in the 20 minutes we spent on the tiny platform we witnessed a taped off police-crime-scene being guarded by armed officers, a scowling pregnant child and a man with a raging pitbull shouting at another man across the train tracks. The journey goes quickly enough though it you have a nice array of train snacks, good conversation and hang-man to fall back on.

As a result of a complete fluke, instead of the April showers and grey drizzle we’d expected when we booked in February, it was the hottest day of the year so far. Cardigans and coats were shed, sunglasses were out and we all came home with noticabley pink faces (oh so British!) I’ve bolded the other seaside cliches in the following post just to show how we ticked just about every box! Upon arrival we walked through Eastbourne town centre and picked up some rock at the Truley Scrumptious Olde Fashioned Sweet Shop and then jumped aboard an open top bus up to Beachy Head. It is a place of such breath-taking beauty but obviously there is the more sinister side which is unavoidable to ignore when you see the beautiful cliffs scattered with wooden crosses and fresh flowers. There is such a bittersweetness to how incredible the chalk cliffs and views are against the heart breaking sadness of the lives lost there. Luckily we saw no lone walkers or potential jumpers (just one crazy dad tourist getting a bit of a fright when he stepped out a bit too far) and I would recommend anyone to go here if they haven’t. It must be one of the most perfect areas of the UK. It was peaceful and serene and unusual and the haunting noise of the lighthouse carries through the air giving it a really dramatic ambiance. Photographs do not do it justice!

Back in Eastbourne we picked up Fish and Chips from Qualisea. You might know know how very seriously I take the business of f&c munching and these did not let me down! Fresh flakey haddock, crispy batter and the fact we could eat them on the pebbles, in tee shirts, with circling mutant seagulls (rather than huddling inside somewhere for warmth) made them all the more tasty. Then we played on the (rather sad old) pier, took touristy photographs in deck chairs wandered along the beach, got sand (and chalk) in our shoes, explored the band stand, then went for high tea in The Grand Hotel and slightly napped in the big comfy chairs.

We came home happy and burnt and full of sea air and happy thoughts.

Any recommendations for our next seaside jaunt are very welcome, as we are stuck and need to get booking…

Tags: 3 is the magic number, Beach, Beachy Head, Day Trip, Eastbourne, Escape, Seaside

G is for Grandparents & Getaway

April 5, 2010 in Grandparents | 1 comment

There are many things I love about London, but one of them is escaping it.

My grandparents like in Norfolk, in a converted barn in the middle of meadows and countryside as far as the eye can see. My granny is called Lesley, she is 91, and she can still move faster than me. She refers to 70 years olds as ‘ancient’! She refuses to eat anything that isn’t homecooked (mostly by her – she says the key ingredient to any cooking is love. Ah.), she survived bowel cancer in her 80s when everyone was busy clucking and talking about her ‘good innings’, she has the most incredible stories and she is still head over heels in love with my Pa despite being together since they were 13 and 15. My Pa is called Pat. He likes to wear a flat cap, his favourite colour is purple and he can still completely destroy me at cards. He has Parkinsons disease, which causes him to shake. It also makes him sleepy and confused. Conversations can quickly go off on a tangent, snippets of something he has read or seen on the tv or ancient memories suddenly bulldozing in and making no sense to anyone else. We can be sat in silence and he’ll suddenly grab my hand and say How many people does it take to look after that lion do you think? and I’ll say Oh I’d imagine two or three and then he is happy, and falls asleep again. I have no idea which lion he is talking about.

I love them both ferociously and I know that it’s so precious to have living granparents when you are an adult, that I do try to visit as often as possible. Not that it’s a hardship for me mind; nonstop homemade soup, clambering around fields and gardens in my wellies looking for bugs and treasure, swimming in their ramshackle old pool, reading lots, sleeping lot and ODing on good, clean country air.