magpie27's Xanga

Long time no see

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 23:32:21 GMT

Heya guys. Long time no see and a new layout :] I actually really like it, very neat, very simple and clean and I like to think it's somewhat sophisticated, but I'm not entirely sure what a sophisticated website layout looks like :P

Well not much has happened... then again I'm fifteen now. I've been fifteen for sixteen days, so do you want to do the maths or should I just tell you? I think I'll let you do it because I feel lazy like that. I had a pretty good birthday. I got an ipod nano which is so small I think I'm going to break it. I also got £75 of smiths vouchers! I love that shop (for those people who don't live in the UK it's a nice big stationary shop with all the books, notepads, pens, dvds and CDs one could desire so I'm happy :] It really does pay to have so many family members sometimes ;)

I got Phantom of the Opera on dvd too, and the Doctor Who series 2 box-set! Quite a few books... two Doctor Who ones, Across the Wall and Interview with a Vampire :D And now I'm almost certain I'm confusing birthday presents with christmas presents (and I'm sure you don't care) but I also got the Jurassic Park box set and DMC3 Special edition :]

So yesh, very entertained and very happy :D

I'm half confident and half terrified about my GCSEs I have a new found love of maths which I really am happy about. I used to love maths in years 5 and 6, but then in KS7 I just got completely confused. Now though thanks to my tutor I just understand everything! Which really proves that your teacher plays a lot in the learning process I suppose. Hoping to get B maybe an A if I try really hard :]

French I'll get a D, maybe a C. English I'm hoping for an A, but that really depends on what's on the test. Starting my media study on Psycho: Comment on rhetorical use of the camera in 'Psycho' with reference to three denatative-cannatative analyses. What does that mean I mean am I being stupid or is that just confusing?

Nat got to do a comparison between Moulin Rouge and some other movie so I'm kinda annoyed. I can do comparisons, but how can you tell if someone is being rhetorical with a camera?! Oh well I'll figure it out :D

ICT B maybe? You see I'm one of those people who is kinda average at everything and never brilliant at something which is kinda annoying. Then there's Nat who's predicted A* on everything, but she's an anomaly :P

The music is How to Save a Life by The Fray (the most downloaded song of all time). It's not the origional version however, my friend did a DMC video to it and fitted the clips around the song so brilliantly that I asked her to turn it into a mp3 file for me :) And she did and I love it XD

Family

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:16:34 GMT

I've been thinking about family a lot. Probably because it's christmas. And at christmas you think about your family because they're there. They're normally annoying and jolly and sit you at the kids table despite the fact that after a few glasses of wine they act far more like a child than you do, but it's still nice that they're there.

We went to my uncle's house for christmas because my sister and I wanted to. My parents would have much rather stayed at home seeing as my uncle and aunt can be incredably arrogant and my grandma is going senile. But because my sister and I wanted to we went anyway and we had fun. Daniel my cousin who is still 1 was opening presents and throwing food around and bashing symbols which he had been gievn for christmas -_-'' and my elder cousins were sitting with us being bored, but in the end we did have a good time. Nice food, nice conversation, no one got terribly drunk and no one argued.

I suppose that once we accepted that we were there and should have a good time anyway we really started to enjoy it.

Lately I've just seen people saying how they have no connections with their parents or family - mainly parents though and that makes me kinda sad. I really don't know what I'd do without my family there. My mum's more like a big sister sometimes and though my dad and I don't always generally see eye to eye he's pretty cool. Ha! That seems like a weird thing to say, but I'm definatly the boy in my family and it's nice to have someone to do boy stuff with... or talk about it with. Like going to see the new James Bond and rugby matches. I'm never sure whether I'm more boyish because I want my dad to have a boy or because of the way I am. Probably a bit of both I think. My mum was a tom-boy and has never been interested in girl things (make up etc.) so maybe it's genetic. Then again looking at my sister... I think maybe she's got more pier pressure on her side, though at least she hasn't gone completely overboard...

Well basically I suppose I'm thankful. Maybe we need a thanksgiving over in england, but it's incredably cheesy to be thankful for everything when really everyone knows it's just ritual. So I'm thankful for my family and for what I have with my parents and my home even if that is kinda cheesy :]

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:28:16 GMT

Okay well I added that chapter of five drabbles to my account on HPFF - but it keeps going to the back of the validation que because I keep on editing it. Which I'm kinda happy about because now it's better... but not perfect of course. Those drabbles were really just an excuse for me to make the banner and get the idea out there before I forget. I only just scraped the 500 word limit and the last one is pretty rubbish.

Well I just wanted to do something with these beautiful pictures of Nicole Kidman in the Chanel advert. I don't know why, but she reminded me of how I pictured Narcissa... seeing as Narcissa is the female form of Narcissus in mythology and he was vain, but also beautiful. That is if I remember correctly. And the fact that she has blonde hair and blue/grey eyes worked too. I'm not sure if they touched her eyes up in the posters or if her eyes change colour in light ('coz mine tend to do that XD). She's a very good acctress though apart from that, there was so much emotion in just an advert, and I think most of it was in her look in these two pictures:

So yeah... Dead Calm was on the other day too, which was good, kinda weird plot-line, but it's nice to see her with her natural hair colour... which brings me on to the question of whether or not her eyes are naturally blue or green. Not sure why I care, she just is very pretty, and seeing as I'm so obsessed with beauty I just noticed that.

Anyway, moving on. I found out that it is impossibly hard to make music video of the Matrix with fast music. Why? Because you get to the action parts and they all slow down :D I did one to One Man Army by Our Lady Peace, seeing as Neo is kinda a one man army. Then again so is Smith because it's an army of his clones, which are still all one person, or all one programe or something :P

Well here's the linky I would have put the video in here, but then again you wouldn't be able to hear the music properly over the music on my xanga, which I must change.

Can't wait for Hugo Weaving's next movie to come out, he plays a gay ex-rugby league heroin addict, that's a quite a mouthful! I don't think that he'd have any trouble with the gay part, just wondering about the rugby league part :D Might convince my rugby obsessed father to take me to see it... then again he might put two and two together and come up with five -_-''

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 19:49:16 GMT

I want to make a really pretty new layout :P well not pretty... just cool. I think this and my 'he's a pirate' layouts are the only ones I've really liked.

I was considering turning Julian Sands into a Vampire (okay he's already been one) but because he was origionally going to be in Interview With A Vampire which he should have been, damn marquee value... he would have been so much better. Then again I suppose I'm thinking of him when he was a good deal younger, but still.

Well I kinda wanted something darker anyway...

Why? I have no idea, it probably won't help my mood. But... beautifully dark, does that make sense to anyone?

I'm still planning that Lucius/Narcissa fic I've been going on about. It's not that I like the characters - actually I do, but not as they are in the books, Narcissa's okay I suppose. It's just kinda clear in the books that decpite everything they really do love each other. But the way Narcissa acts in the half blood prince makes me think that the whole family isn't totally deluded into thinking that everything is perfectly fine the way it's happening. I don't know I suppose I just want to explore their relationship a little more - though I have no idea where to start.

It's kinda weird you don't know how much you know a thing unless you feel completely lost somewhere else. Does that make sense? I mean I've been obsessed with LotR for so long that I start to expect that everyone else knows everything about it. Now trying to write HP fan fiction I have to research everything before I write -_-'' something I'm not happy with even though I know life shouldn't always be easy XD

So yes at the moment I suppose all I've got is a one-shot about Narcissa going to visit him in Azkaban - and about half a million drabbles.

Anyway, no more talking about people who don't actually exsist. Even though that's what I spend half my live doing :)

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:02:44 GMT

Been thinking about this quote by Alfred D Souza lately. I love it so much, but at the same time I dislike it, because unless you've really picked a day to live and not care and then you plan on dying then you're probably going to regret some of the things you did. You can't do both you know? You can't plan ahead and dance like no one is watching at the same time.

I suppose the idea is to make you realize that in the end thinking about getting through everything isn't the important thing. Wishing time away is really isn't a good idea and praying that you'll sail through doesn't matter either.

There are things which have been tough for me to get through these passed years. I can actually look back and see them now, though at the time nothing really made sense.

For example take a test, GCSE or A-Level, it doesn't really matter. Then you imagine being bottom of the class all the way through life and you work really hard for a B and you get it when everyone else told you to do foundation level instead of higher. It wouldn't matter that you got an A or A* because that B would mean so much more to you.

Anyway here's the quote:

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the journey you take and the problems you face.

So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with... and remember that time waits for no one ...

So stop waiting until you finish school ... until you go back to school ... until you lose ten pounds ... until you gain ten pounds ... until you have kids ... until your kids leave the house ... until you start work ... until you retire ... until you get married ... until you get divorced ... until Friday night ... until Sunday morning ... until you get a new car or home ... until your car or home is paid off ... until spring, until summer ... until fall ... until winter ... until you are off welfare ... until the first or fifteenth ... until your song comes on ... until you've had a drink ... until you've sobered up ... until you die ... until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness isn't just bliss, it's getting back on the horse after you've fallen off. It's rising out of the ashes when it seems like there's nothing left.

Thought for the day (like we used to do in school):

"Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching."

Monday, November 20, 2006

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:36:44 GMT

I've been writing a lot more recently, maybe it's because it's this Autumn/Winter time of the year and I feel so much more relaxed. I think I must know nearly every meaning of the word procrastination. That list I had a couple of entries back is coming along... I've added yet another thing to it though, which may not have been the best idea. It can stand as a one shot though so it's okay. Final Goodbye - A nice sappy Elladan and Elrohir make different decisions about going to the grey havens fic. I found it in one of my old notebooks a while back and re-vamped it a bit.

So that list now goes:

~Harry Potter Fan Fiction~

Collisions - Writing Chapter 3
It's a Twin Thing - Writing Chapter 3 (Chapter 2 waiting for Validation).

~Lord of the Rings Fan Fiction~

Half Blood - Writing Chapter 5
Dead Inside - Writing Chapter 8 (revising earlier chapters)
Final Goodbye - Debating on leaving as a one shot and how to end it.

~Misc Fan Fics~

Blind Faith - Writing Chapter 5

~Original Fiction~

Dance Like No one is Watching - Writing Chapter 3

So it's coming along though I should probably be concentrating on that origional story I have been writing for... nearly three years.

And I've been debating on whether or not to do the MC prompts challenge thing, which probably isn't a good idea, but then again it might give me some inspiration.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 15:19:40 GMT

The irony of it all is frightening sometimes. How similar some situations turn out and how different choices made by different people can shape a person, can make them who they are. It's the most bizarre thing in the world, that two people can be so similar and yet because of one reaction, the other side of the coin it splits. If you don't know what I'm talking about then I guess this doesn't make sense, but I'm talking about my brother.

He's not my brother... and he kinda is at the same time. When I tell people they think I'm making it up, but I'm not. When I tell people they look at me like I should be crying at the memory, but I don't even feel sad. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to have him here, I like kids he's be around ten now, maybe nine still. Sometimes I think he is part of my imagination, you know? Like a memory so old you can't remember whether it was a dream or not. He didn't have a name, and he didn't ever breathe and I don't even know where he's burried or what year he died.

But you know what I do know? He was burried on November 7th, my little sisters birthday. And the only reason I remember that is because of the fireworks (Oh and Bex feeling hard done by because he was burried on that day... I suppose she had a valid point). We were at my cousin's house and November 5th was sometime in the week so we had the fireworks at the weekend. I suppose if I worked out which year between 1996-1999 had November the 7th on a weekend I'd be able to figure out which year it was. But I might be wrong about it having been a weekend, it's just my assumption.

So yeah, weird I suppose, and you didn't really need to know that either. I don't want to forget though and it's close to the time he... died isn't the right word... but what else is... I suppose he was alive... but he was never born. So just to remember someone without a name or a life, or a birthday.

Check the programe files

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 23:41:55 GMT

Always... and I mean always check the programe files before tearing your hair out! I've been trying to find windows movie maker for ages, and guess what? It was right there in the c: drive!

So I've made two movies in three days, it would have been more, but I had to rip around half an hour of V for Vendetta to get the clips. There weren't any anywhere -_-''

So here's the linky in case you're interested, I'd really like a comment because I've had this video in mind for ages. When I first heard this song on the radio (it's Avril Lavigne - I'm with you) I wanted to make a video for it even before I knew how to make videos so now I've finally done it and I'm quite pleased with it. I made a Lord of the Rings one too ^_^ here which I think worked out quite well.

It was requested that I turn this layout into a wallpaper, so if you want to use it go ahead. Though it's only 800x600. I have a larger version but photobucket won't let me upload that, so if you want it just e-mail me. As for those of you like me that have erm wide-screen pc screens I think the best way to set up a wallpaper like that is to center is and put black all the way around the edges.

Funny thing has happened this past week or so, I think I've grown up that little bit again like I've reached another point in my life... I feel kinda ready to be 15 XD only two months to go it's just kinda weird like in my head I just feel older. And there's no way to describe it apart from that.

I've been writing a little less what with my discovery of this new media, that list down a couple of entries ago... that's still pretty much the same, in fact I'm still pretty sure I have all of that left to update, though I have written some more stuff.

Made a ton more graphics too, but I have yet to update my livejournal. I need to update a ton of stuff. Oh and I've been screen-capping V for Vendetta so if people want to make graphics, wallpapers etc. they can.

So two new websites to add to the list:

The last homely house - My Lord of the Rings graphics

The Shadow Gallery - For personal V for Vendetta stuff and just general info because there aren't really any V for Vendetta fan sites out there at all...

You know I've been puzzling over why V seems so perfect to me... and I have yet to figure out why. Maybe it's because of the mask, but it's not... because it's not the mask's symbolism which is perfect to me. And for once I've not felt silly about 'falling in love with a character' (when I say love of course I have no idea what I'm talking about because how the heck am I supposed to know what love is, but my idea of it I suppose). Because I've kinda realized that that's not stupid, it makes perfect sense to me... there's no point in falling in love with a face right? But maybe that's why I don't feel stupid. If I fell in love Jack then everyone would go 'oh you like Leo' but that's totally wrong. This probably sounds odd to some people, but to me it makes perfect sense.

Anyway... yeah I'm a true romantic you know? I can't stand the idea of love fading... true love fading and dying. Part of me would much rather walk away from it and remember the feeling remember it pure and crisp. Not be sitting there with some guy who I once knew and some life I didn't want. But then again if I did walk away and leave everything I would probably regret it for the rest of my life.

Yeah weird I know heh.

And I don't want the world to see me,
Because I don't think that they'd understand,
When everything's made to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am.

Remember, remember the fifth of November

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 17:58:57 GMT

Okay, so it's not actually the fifth yet, but what with all the fireworks going off tonight it might as well be :] And what with my V for Vendetta obsession the occasion needs to be marked with a nice layout. It's a remake of one I made a while back... well hardly a remake, but I edited the picture a little, put some textures over the top and I quite like the effect. Before it looked kinda washed out and Natalie's hair wasn't working :P It's not absolutely fantastic, but it's definitely an improvement.

So I'm going to see a firework display at 7pm with Jo. And when I say display I really mean a bunch of amateurs trying to look professional -_-'' seriously. Last year... or the year before I can't remember... well my dad and uncle set two fireworks up in the little poll thing (which is only supposed to take one firework) together so that they'd go off at the same time. Unfortunately the extra weight meant that it didn't go fast enough or high enough. In fact they spun off into the trees right next to the house and turned into a giant Catherine wheel :P Luckily no one was hurt, but it just goes to show really.

You know I'm kinda unimpressed with Torchwood, the new sci-fi branch off from Dr. Who if you want to know. I was expecting something brilliant after Dr. Who which was maybe why I was disappointed. Maybe Dr. Who appealed to the little girl inside me far more than Torchwood did. Or maybe David Tennant just brought something to Dr. Who that no one else could. To be honest I wasn't all too impressed with the guy that was in the first series and then quit. But to be honest (and no offence) but to me it was way too american. Like the british humor was totally gone and all that was left was the hi-tech gadget thing with the added CSI type of dialogue. Just not Dr. Who, you know? And one of the main characters had an american accent, at least I think it was american... The Captain Jack guy (origionality out the window there).

The Torchwood in that last Dr. Who episode was so different. There were places you could recognize, shots of London, the houses of Parliment, Big Ben... Batisee (sp?). Torchwood mareswell have been filmed in the US. Oh and then in the second episode! The alien is obsessed with sex *eye roll* of course it would be ::sigh::.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not prejudice againts the US or it's people or anything to do with it. I just expected something else. I like programes like CSI, but I just wasn't expecting CSI you know?

-Magpie

Music: Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls

This is one of my favorite songs at the moment (they are forever changing). I'm not entirely sure why, I really like the lyrics and certain other aspects of the song. It also seems to make sense to have it with the V for Vendetta layout seeing as one of the first times I heard it it was in a fan V for Vendetta music video. I really like fan videos, but I hate the real ones they seem to make you loose your interpritation of the music.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:11:43 GMT

I've had this odd sense of euphoria lately this sort of floating bliss. Maybe it's because it's half term and I don't have to think. I'm sure the fact that it's autumn - my favorite time of the year - only adds to this state of bliss. It's really nice for once. I've been making avatars and graphics and not my normal morbid stuff all light and floaty and surreal. And I like it. I really do. It makes me feel good.

I've also been watching Doctor Who a lot this week. They have re-runs on the TV before Torchwood comes on and I think the first episode I saw was my favorite. 'The Girl in the Fire Place'. It was so sad and beautiful at the same time and as always humorous. The script writer is very good and David Tennant is a brilliant actor with that whimsical sort of way.

My favorite line is definitely that 'Pick a star any star' part at the end, the bitter-sweetness of that episode was absolutely stunning.

So I'm planning a Dr. Who layout, :P though fireworks night is in 4 days and then my V layout is coming back up.

I got a LiveJournal. Though I'm using it for my graphics, banners avatars etc. Go have a look if you want.

Here's a taster of my stuff:

Nero from DMC 4 and the doctor and Rose from the last episode of season 2. Can't wait to see the episode with Catherine Tate in it at Christmas!

Oh and Dr. Who won 3 awards at the English TV awards tonight (2nd Novemeber) Best Actor, Best Actress and Best TV Drama!

===========================================================

You know how sometimes you just catch someone's eye in the steet? You know they've seen you because there is that split second when your eyes meet and it feels weird. You seem to know everything about them, but it happens in the blink of an eye and then you've turned away and you're walking past them. It's like there's this sudden link and then they're gone, but you can't help but remember the moment when your eye met their's and you wonder if they felt the same way. Just like because they noticed you. Do they wonder why you looked at them? Do they wonder what you were thinking when they looked at you?