Pictures from Scotland

This is a new thing I've decided to do. Me and my camera are traveling. We're on a quest. A quest of great importance. We're taking pictures of Castles/Manor Houses/Anything historic in Scotland.

I decided to start this because I found it hard to find pictures of places to show Luna. I mean, you can find some pictures but some are very limited. My pictures are not bad. They're not great but at least it shows you different things about each place.

So far I've got pics of Glenbuchat Castle which is located on a bluff above the River Don in Aberdeenshire. It was built in 1590 for John Gordon of Cairnbarrow and his wife Helen on the occasion of their wedding. You can read more about the castle here.

I always have pictures of Leith Hall in Aberdeenshire. Leith Hall was built by the Leith family in 1650 and remained in the Leith-Hay family until 1945. There were extensions added to Leith Hall in 1738, 1810 and in 1904. It was built on the site of the medieval Peill Castle. You can read more about Leith Hall here, and you can also read about their ghosts! I've not been inside Leith Hall yet. It wasnt open for visitors but when it is, I'll be adding more pictures.

I hope people enjoy looking at the pictures as much as I did taking them. Loads more historic places to come. So keep checking back for updates. There is a listing on the side of the blog to everywhere I've taken pictures of.

It's about time

I'm finally getting home tomorrow. I cant bloody wait. It's been too long in coming. Any longer left in this place and I might end up going crazy.

I can finally get things moving on here too. Not liking the page rank going down!

80's Movies

Yet again I'm back with another classic 80's movie for your viewing pleasure. All the movies that I loved in the 80's will be brought to you here. I hope they bring back fond memories. They do to me and that's why I own a lot of them on dvd!

Past movies are Monster Squad, Pump Up The Volume, Beetlejuice, Adventures in Babysitting.

Today I'm taking you back to 1987 and the movie Spaceballs. Staring Mel Brooks, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga and John Candy. The planet Spaceball, home planet of the evil Spaceballs is running out of air and the planet's ruler President Skroob (Brooks) has devised a evil scheme, where he plans to steal the air from the atmosphere of the peaceful planet Druidia. When Druidia's ruler King Roland's beautiful daughter Princess Vespa (Zuniga) and her loyal droid Dot Matrix flees from Druidia during her wedding to Prince Valium, The evil commander of the Spaceball fleet, Dark Helmet (Moranis) captures Princess Vespa so King Roland will be forced to give them the access code to the defense shield surrounding planet Druidia. But heroic space pilot Lone Starr (Pullman) and his sidekick, Barf (Candy) (A Mog half man-half Dog) comes to Princess Vespa's rescue. With help from wise and powerful master of the magic ring "The Schwartz" Yogurt, Lone Starr, Barf, Dot and Princess Vespa set out to save Druida and foil Dark Helmet and President Scroob's scheme and prevent them from stealing the air from Druidia.

A brilliant comedy and well worth the watch. It makes fun of certain parts of Star Wars and you'll never be short of laughs. Enjoy the clip. It's the best I could find, sorry.

I'm sorry

Dear uncle,

Today your life changed. Today became the beginning of the end. I've thought about all the times we've talked and laughed but I can't help but feel a complete bastard.
Ever since my Dad died, we've seen less of each other. All the times I've had nothing to do and never once did I come to see you. I've wasted so much time on all the wrong things.
I should have had the right piece of mind to spend more time with you.
I should have insisted that I do your shopping for you.
I should have made you more cups of coffee and toast while I've been with you.
I should have talked to you about my feelings of everything.
And most of all...I should have told you I love you a lot more than I have done.

I cried today. I couldn't help but cry but then I wondered to myself. Do I really have the right to cry as much as I did? Did I cry more because memories of the day my dad told me he had cancer came flooding back to me? And does this make me selfish? The more I thought of it, I realised the answer is no. I'm not selfish and yes. I have the right to bawl my eyes out if I want to because, you see, I don't have to tell you every day that I love you because you know I love you with all my heart. You've been in my thoughts every day. Could have been just for 2-3 minutes at a time but I still thought of you and why did I do that? The answer is simple. You are like a father to me...in my heart. Maybe not in the physical but in the mental way of me thinking.

You've been through so much in your life and you've kept smiling. You've never let your disability stop you from showing your true colours. A man who laughed in the face of every virus you caught, every obstacle that came your way. I know that you are smiling through all this even though inside your heart is breaking. I feel truely honoured to have had someone like you in my life, to have known your life, to have had you as an uncle (even though you're not really an uncle). My Dad always said that you were the best person he had ever known and now I understand why. I still feel like a bastard because it's taken the news that you're dying to make me realise this.

I hope in your heart you can forgive me for not being there like I should have. I hope you can forgive me for being selfish. I hope you can forgive me for not burning your toast enough when I did make it for you. I love you with every piece of my heart. Always have and I always will, and I'm going to make sure you know I do. This isnt the beginning of the end. It's the start of another life of you fishing with my Dad in his little cottage with a stream at the bottom of the garden. He'll have made sure it's full of every fish you ever wanted to catch but couldnt. You'll laugh and joke about the days you both drove taxis for the same firm. He'll take care of you till we all meet again and when that day comes, you'll tell me you heard my message to you. I'll be telling it to you every day for only you and my dad to hear.

Till that day, I'm going to see you as much as I can manage. I'm going to try and make up for every single minute I missed with you. I truly am sorry!

Love you,

Jenni xxxx

-I wanted to write this letter for my Uncle who is dying of lung cancer and doesnt have much time left.

Lunar Eclipse

Lastnight I braved the cold weather to stand outside and take pictures of the Lunar Eclipse (that's a picture I took at the side). It was amazing to watch and I wish I took more pictures after 12am. The eclipse began at 2018 GMT, with the Moon totally immersed in the shadow of the Earth between 2244 and 2358 GMT. It was the first total Lunar Eclipse in more than 3 years.


I took other pictures than just these two. pic 3, pic 4, pic 5, pic 6, pic 7, pic 8. The last 2 pictures might be best viewed either standing up a little or tilting your screen (if you have a laptop) I think I did pretty well considering that I'm still learning how to use my camera and I don't have a large lense to help me with long distance viewing. Hope you like them.

You can read about the Lunar Eclipse and see more pictures taken by others (much much better than mine) here.

Desktop

A change of desktop was long overdue and here I am showing off my new pic. It's of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost who star in....you guessed it (from the screenshot) Hot Fuzz!

Joke of the day

A 95 year old man is given a jar to provide a sperm sample.

He turns up 2 days later with the jar empty

Nurse asks "Why no sample?"
He says "Sorry, but I tried with my right hand and then my left. My wife tried with both hands, her mouth, then with her teeth in and with them out. Ethel from next door tried but it was all no good. We just could not get the fucking lid off the jar!"

79th Academy Awards - The Results

Here are the results of the 79th Academy Awards that took place lastnight at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

Best picture
WINNER: The Departed
Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Best director
WINNER: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, Babel

Best actor
WINNER: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness

Best actress
WINNER: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Best animated feature film
WINNER: Happy Feet
Cars
Monster House

Best visual effects
WINNER: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
Superman Returns

You can read the rest of the results here.

What piffle !

Before anyone says anything about me using the word piffle..

n.
Foolish or futile talk or ideas; nonsense.

Got that over and done with.

After spending over a month stuck at my mothers, I finally got to go home this tuesday passed. It was bliss! I could do what I want, not clean up, slob about and I got to sit on a comfy seat while surfing the t'internet. My dream was then snatched from me like a kid with a Mr Potato Head stolen by the school bullies. I had to come back to my mums 2 days after getting home because the car she bought decided to die on her. Just like her other jeep AND my little car that she broke.

It was clear to see that I was not impressed and after bitching about it I was told "You should feel lucky to be going back to your mums. At least you'll get proper meals." WHAT PIFFLE!! The only reason I get proper cooked meals here is because I end up cooking them. "You'll enjoy yourself at your mums. You always say you do." again...WHAT PIFFLE!! I enjoy myself here when I have transport but because my mum is always working, she has the car. So what do I have to do? I have to sit inside the house that's in the middle of the country and watch after the puppy from hell, I have to feed the chickens from hell and then clean up the house from hell. Where's the fun in that, I ask ya?

I'm going home on tuesday no matter what anyone says. I'm going into see a great movie on wednesday (reviewed a few posts below), I have a hospital appointment I cant miss and I want to sleep in my own bed. Can anyone blame me? Would anyone sue me for wanting to be alone in my own flat, in my own bed, on my own computer and on my comfy chair? NO. NO ONE CAN and if anyone would like to try, I'd say bring it on. Annoying a Scottish girl with no transport is like you sticking a mars bar in your arse and running past a rottweiler, for it then to chase you down the road. That's just asking for trouble

80's Movies

I'm not losing the tradition of posting 80's movie clips from youtube. For your past enjoyment I had posted clips of Monster squad, Pump up the Volume (before anyone says anything. I know it was from the 90's but it's very close to the 80's. So hush it!) and just a few days ago I posted Beetlejuice for you all.

This clip now comes from the 1987 movie called Adventures in Babysitting. Written by Chris Columbus and staring Elizabeth Shue, Keith Coogan and Anthony Rapp, this movie focuses on Chris Parker (Shue) being stuck babysitting after her date is canceled. After her friend, Brenda, calls begging to be picked up from the bus station, Chris and the kids head into the city only to be met with car problems and then the problem of staying alive after being caught up in the middle of a mafia deal all because of a Playboy magazine. Full of comedy, chases and teenage crushes, this movie is a great 80's icon movie.

Movie Review - Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz
Directed by: Edger Wright
Written by: Edger Wright, Simon Pegg
Staring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent
Plotline: Nicholas Angel is the finest cop London has to offer. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, Angel's superiors send him to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing - the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford. Once there, he is partnered with the well-meaning but overeager police officer Danny Butterman, who is a huge action movie fan and believes his new big-city partner might just be a real-life "bad boy," and his chance to experience the life of gunfights and car chases he so longs for. As a series of grisly accidents rocks the village, Angel is convinced that Sandford is not what it seems and he's out to clean up the mess.

This movie is made by the same guys who brought us Shaun of the Dead and if you've seen that movie then you'll LOVE Hot Fuzz. This movie is full of laughs, car chases, gunfights and twists. It's a must see for any comedy fan. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost don't disappoint the audience with their acting and comedy skills. There's not one wooden performance. Which makes it all the more watchable because you don't get bored half way through. I thought with the movie being 2 hours long that I would be praying for the end to come. In fact...I was praying for it to never end. I loved it. The only negative thing I can say about the movie is that there's too much of the fast sequence scenes that were made famous in Shaun of the Dead. I felt a few of them werent needed but I didn't let that cloud my judgement on the movie as a whole.

Highly enjoyable and most likely to become a cult success as Shaun of the Dead became. So enjoyable that I'm going into see it for a second time next week!! I'd give this movie a rating of 9/10

80's Movies

Just thought I would post a scene from one of my all time favourite movies called Beetlejuice. Made in 1988 and directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder, this movie keeps you in laughs from start to finish.

It's about a couple who have recently died and their struggle to come to terms with the family from New York who have bought their house and changed everything. They contact a bio-exorcist called Beetlejuice in an attempt to rid their new england farmhouse of the yuppie family, The Deetzs. This is one movie I love Michael Keaton in and it's blasphemy if you've not yet seen it. Watch this clip and then head out to the nearest store that sells dvds and BUY IT! If you dont like my recommendation of the movie, then come back and let me know and I'll eat my e-words. Enjoy



*EDIT on 29th Aug 2007: Vid changed due to other vid no longer being on youtube

An evening with Derek Acorah

My Valentines was spent at a show called An evening with Derek Acorah, who happens to be a spirit medium here in the UK. I've never been to a night like this before and I have to say..I was impressed. He got information spot on with everyone he talked with. Just a shame he never had a message for me.

Here is the program that was for sale before the show and afterwards Derek did a signing with anyone who happened to want to wait (tick tock, tick tock) over 30 minutes. I couldn't talk that night. I had lost my voice, which seemed to please a lot of people, so all my talking had to be done by my mother.

I did, however, manage to take my own pictures of him. If no one had gone to a show like this, then you should. I know it's not for everyone but if you believe in spirit mediums, then it's something you'll enjoy. You never know..you might get a message from a loved one who has crossed over.

My only rant about the whole night is the people who happen to go along and either don't answer the medium when he offers information to find the person who the message is for OR for the people who are lucky enough to get a message and just dont seem interested at all. I can't understand why they go if they know there's a chance he could be speaking about your loved one and they say fuck all about it. This happened a lot and it only holds up other people from having the chance of a message.

EDIT:When I said they just dont seem interested at all and wouldn't speak up - There was the women who annoyed Derek (see below)She didn't speak up after him asking her to 3 or 4 times. He was telling her things from this spirit and she was telling him "yes" "maybe" "could be". If that's the case and things arent fitting right, then she should speak up and tell him that it's not fitting right. He would either have offered her more information or tried to find the actual relative that the message is for.
Edit 2:He was calling for someone who might have had a little clue as to who would have been here to send a message. One case of a reading was that he spent 15 minutes trying to find the person who it could have been and no one said anything. Then just as he was about to ask the spirit to leave, someone piped up saying "It's me" Why did it take 15 minutes for them to say it could have been them. He was offering the same information over and over again. Yet it took someone 15 minutes to say that it was them. It was a message from their Dad. It's not like you're going to forget about your own Dad who died just 9 years before.

One women was totally stupid and she annoyed Derek enough that he just gave up. I don't blame him, to be honest. If you're going to pay £15+ for a ticket, then at least put it to good use! I'll be going back for another show if there happens to be one. Might get a message from my Dad or I might not be so lucky at all. It's a 50/50 chance.

The Brits 2007 - The Results

This years Brit awards was held at Earls Court in London lastnight. Here are some of the results:-

British Male Solo Artist
WINNER: James Morrison
Jarvis Cocker
Lemar
Paolo Nutini
Thom Yorke

British Female Solo Artist
WINNER: Amy Winehouse
Corinne Bailey Rae
Jamelia
Lily Allen
Nerina Pallot

British Album
WINNER: Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Lily Allen - Alright Still
Muse - Black Holes & Revelations
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open

British Group
WINNER: Arctic Monkeys
Kasabian
Muse
Razorlight
Snow Patrol

British Single
WINNER: Take That - Patience
The Feeling - Fill My Little World
Razorlight - America
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Will Young - All Time Love

International Male Solo Artist
WINNER: Justin Timberlake
Beck
Bob Dylan
Damien Rice
Jack Johnson

International Female Solo Artist
WINNER: Nelly Furtado
Beyonce
Cat Power
Christina Aguilera
Pink

Outstanding Contribution To Music: Oasis

You can view the rest of the results here

Bafta awards 2007 - The Results

The Baftas took place yesterday at the Royal Opera House in London and I thought I would just post the results for people to see (who haven't seen them already). So here you go:-

Best Film:
WINNER: The Queen
Babel
The Last King of Scotland
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine

Best British Film:
WINNER: The Last King of Scotland
The Queen
Casino Royale
Notes on a Scandal
United 93

Best Actor In A Leading Role:
WINNER: Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Daniel Craig - Casino Royale
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Richard Griffiths - The History Boys

Best actress in a leading role
WINNER: Dame Helen Mirren - The Queen
Dame Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Kate Winslet - Little Children
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada

You can read the rest of the results for the baftas here.

Human rights...my ass!

In our local newspaper on saturday there was a front page story about a paedophile named Steven Leisk who murdered a 9 year old in 1997.

Steven Leisk claims his human rights have been broken and now wants a cash payment. He is locked up in Peterhead prison, a victorian jail where the practice is still taking place with chemical toilets. He is one of 1,400 inmates who are making claims against the fact they are made to slop out.

In 1997, Leisk snatched Scott Simpson while he was playing football yards from Leisk's home. He strangled Scott and then dumped his body. 5 days later, little Scott was found. Leisk was jailed for life with the recommendation he serve a minimum of 25 years. But under human rights legislation the punishment was reviewed and cut to 20 years.

In my opinion, they shouldnt have any human rights! Anyone who murders someone has taken away their human rights. So why the hell should they have any?! Let them rot in jail. It's what they deserve. Prisoners seem to have a better life inside a prison than people living a normal life. Am I the only one who thinks that's fucked up? Maybe I'm old fashioned in my thinking but it should be a life for a life. They have taken it upon themselves to end someones life. Why should they carry on living a life they dont deserve?

I do, however, know about the talk of some experts who believe that killers are born to kill. They have been calling for the death penalty to be stopped so they can study these people. I don't know much on that subject because I havent read up about it but maybe that is a good idea. So we get to know and understand the way they think and why they ended up killing people.

That still doesnt stop me thinking that a life for a life is the way it should be. I'm in two minds about it, to be honest. I do think, very strongly, that they shouldnt have any human rights what so ever. Let them slop out, let them rot. It's nothing short of what they deserve.