Weird and Wonderful

So I have been looking for some clothes that reflect my enjoyment of the geeky side of life, video games, fandom etc and unless you just want a t-shirt with a quote on it, things can be hard to find. So I decided to look on Etsy at what other people had made and some of the items are gorgeous. My last post I linked a pair of custom made shoes from Sydney, Australia where strips from comics were used on the outside of the heels. Today I have been looking at dresses and there are some beautiful ones. 

My favourite would have to be this Avengers themed dress by CakeShopCouture. Song Ja from Phoenix Arizona custom makes the dresses to fit allowing 1 -  1/2 weeks to be made and then shipped out. It has been mentioned that they’ll be making a very limited number of these dresses and so they need to be bought sooner rather than later if you want one.

£57.41 (excluding postage)

The next dress I found Was by Re-Stitch Retro and is a Star Wars themed dress. The creator has made the bottom full bodied and gives an option of having coordinating bias tape around the edges and joins. I personally prefer the version with no bias and the black material used to add volume to the skirt.

£60.61 (excluding postage)

The final dress is Space Invaders themed and is once again by CakeShopCouture. I love the styling of it and the small print makes it unnoticeable as a geek themed dress from afar, something which is good if you want to express your hobby without being too obvious.

£44.01 (excluding postage)

Those are the 3 dresses that I have found and really want. Due to the nature of the dresses and that they are custom made to fit the prices are not cheap, but then compared to some high street shops they’re completely affordable. 

So if you want something unique and rather geeky, go onto etsy and look at other peoples creations, or find your own fabrics and create your own.

All prices I have put up are converted from their original prices in US Dollars.

So recently I’ve been looking at crop tops and how to wear them as one of the few things I like about my body is my stomach, but no matter where I look, everyone says you should only show a slither of skin and wear high waisted clothes. But what if you’re short?

I’ve decided this summer that unlike everyone else who seem to want to hide their stomachs I’m going to parade mine around proudly. It’s fine for women to walk around with short shorts (another clothing item I love) and expose a lot of leg so why not our bellys.

The one problem is how much do you show? Like I said before a lot of women prefer to wear high waisted trousers/skirts/shorts to give only a glimpse whereas I’m an advocate of belly buttons being visible but you don’t want to give away too much.

My solution is wearing a bralet with a shirt tied at the waist over the top. It means you have a variation in patterns and gives hourglasses a very pronounced shape without showing too much flesh as your boobs are fairly well hidden.

So I say show off your midriffs and be proud of your stomachs

So earlier today I wrote a post about why I dislike feminism. Since this morning it has had several people reblog it and a few commenting on how I’m wrong. The first thing I noticed was that only women had caused an objection.

I know when I post things that people won’t always like it, especially as I am blunt and will say it exactly how I see it. Now some of the comments seemed a bit harsh and the “hard-wired to want children” seemed even to offend them. It’s bizarre as anyone who knows basic biology will know that the female of every species is there to bear children and carry on the gene. Nowadays we just have the power to decide if that’s what we want without primal instinct

But besides the criticism it is nice to see I can spark a debate, create thought and maybe someone will like what I’ve written because they agree with me rather than just argue that I am wrong. If not I shall just have 1 arguement after another because I will not bow down to other peoples opinions unless they have a good enough explanation that can cause me to think twice.

I’m not sure what it is, but I do not like feminists that much. Those in our past who got us the vote and equal pay took us from second class to equals but nowadays they just seem to be complaining about everything they don’t understand.

I am all for women having equal pay and people should not treat us like objects, but things are not always that black and white. People complain about how women aren’t involved in certain jobs but that goes back to how men and women are different and have different strengths, weaknesses and interests. More men will be engineers as they are more likely to have the interest. Trying to make the companies discriminate to get more females in the career is stupid as most just do not want to do it.

I recently read an article about a lads website that had temporarily been shut down because they had crossed the line by using rape in banter. Now I personally think it was stupid of them but to say women don’t understand banter is ridiculous. It tars all women with the same brush without differentiating that there are those who do. I love a bit of banter, I think it’s funny and we as Brits are happy to laugh at ourselves and each other which is what banter involves.

I actually felt insulted by the fact it was a woman who’d written the article and that there was no platform for debate or comment underneath despite it being on the guardian website. 

Maybe I’m being as bad as that woman, putting all feminists in the same basket, but it is very rare you see a woman talk about her dislike of them when I am meant to be represented by them. I think society has got to the point where men and women are as equal as we can get. Men are no becoming stay at home husbands with the wives getting the career. The roles have swapped but there is a reason why this will never change entirely and that is because as women we are hard-wired to want children, it is our job to career on the species, and men are designed to look after the family. And until we as a species change our primal instincts (extremely unlikely) this will remain the same.

So on Wednesday I went to see Snow Patrol with Rachel at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham. Now to put into perspective how excited I was for this event, I have been trying to see them live for 4 years. Failing due to education and people. So it can be said, I was very happy.

The supporting act came on and it was extremely disappointing but when Snow Patrol came on, I was speechless. This band has been with me for the ups and downs the past 5 years so a lot of their songs have special meanings to me. I am sad to say I did nearly cry out of excitement. Maybe a bit of an over reaction to a band but for something which had got me through so many bad times it seemed reasonable.

They started the set off with Berlin, and instrumental from their new album and a song I did not believe would be played at all.

This was followed by I’ll Never Let Go and then Take back the City. This was the first time we saw the extent of the graphics. As a band with instruments it is harder for them to keep the audiences interest so the images on the back screen worked wonders. Starting off with a city that slowly had flowers bloom across it turning it into a wild paradise and from a birds eye view had their snowflake symbol. 

After this amazing start, the rest of the show did not disappoint. Gary Lightbody (The lead singer) had an extremely good rap-or with the audience, making jokes, laughing when he got things wrong and even told one fan to shut up to everyones amusement.

The show then went on to Hands Open and then to another new track This isn’t everything you are. Rachel and I adore this song. It just makes you remember that not matter what happens, you are so much more and nothing should stop you. The following song Run was in honour of an injured soldier who had found that special someone who had given his life meaning again. The crowd applause was ecstatic and this heartfelt rendition caused a few moments of tears for myself.

Next was In The End, The Garden Rules and Crack the Shutters. Sadly I could not enjoy the last as much as I used to, due to the fact it brings up bad memories. Although I have severed most emotional ties between Snow Patrol songs and this person, this one remains and was a bit of a sore point.

Set the Fire to the Third Bar was beautiful with both Rachel and I singing out guts out. The female vocalist had an amazing voice and complimented Gary extremely well.

This was followed by You Could be Happy and then Shut Your Eyes. Whilst this isn’t one of my favourite songs, the enthusiasm he instilled into the audience was astounding. Most of the show there had been singing along but the audience looked lifeless. I believe this was more out of a quiet admiration for the music than a dislike in the performance but making the audience hum and whisper to the final chorus slowly building up the tensity and sound made you feel like you were part of the performance and not simply watching it.

Chasing Cars was fabulous. I love this song and there isn’t much more to say about it. Chocolate, Called Out Into The Dark, Fallen Empires and You’re All I Have finished the set. The graphics throughout, the video of the audience with images over the top had set everything to a high standard. I was astounded at the quality of the output as it was all being filmed on the spot, not pre-recorded.

They left the stage but thankfully returned for a 3 song encore. This started with Lifening, a song Gary holds very close to him and when he sung you could hear the emotion he had put into it. Open Your Eyes and then Just Say Yes finished off the evening and left us all feeling a lot better about everything in general.

I did sing along to every song, I did dance, I did scream (a tad too high) and I did clap extremely enthusiastically and I don’t care. Normally I like particular songs rather than bands but Snow Patrol are there when I can’t share things with the world and when I need a song to describe how I’m feeling when the words just can’t come out. This isn’t everything I am but it is a big part of me

Now I posted a few days ago about me going through a documentary phase, and out of pure curiosity I am going to edit this post for the next few weeks until it’s over and find out what I have watched and learnt about. Bit of a strange thing to do but it will make for an interesting observation.

15 Kids and Counting (Channel 4)

How Sew Works (BBC)

Ladyboys (Sky Living)

Secrets of the Shoplifters (Channel 4)

My Daughter the Teenage Nudist (Channel 4)

How To Be A Good Mother By Sharon Horgan (Channel 4)

The Ultimate Guide to Penny Pinching (Channel 4)

Twincredibles (BBC)

To Be Re-editted….