Cinematic problems make Barbie a grumpy girl

I used to be a big cinema-goer.  Recently however, I only go when there is a movie that I REALLY want to see on the big screen - this is partially due to the rising costs and partially due to the fact that many movies I'm not that fussed to see in the cinema, but to be really honest the main reason for my growing disdain towards the cinema is...other people.

Today was an epic example.  I've just come home from watching Avengers:Endgame, we went during the day on a weekday to avoid the cinema being mobbed, however, that still didn't stop the two people in the seats directly behind talking the entire way through the film.  I'm sure the movie is as wonderful as many people have thought but my experience of it was thoroughly ruined by these two.  I found myself getting increasingly annoyed to the point that I was pretty irate by the end of the film so I don't think I got the full effect of what should have been a fairly emotional ending to such a long run of movies. 

I'm not going to pay to see it again, I'll wait for it to come out on DVD to watch (and hopefully enjoy it more!) in the peace and quiet of my own home instead. 

Barbie gets serious...not decisive...but still serious.

I read this article recently, it's being doing the rounds on some of my friends Facebook pages.  I'm impressed.  It takes a huge amount of courage and strength of character to be able to face people who are potential threats to you so I very much applaud Mr Davis for his achievement. 

Reading the article made me think of my own recent internal argument relating to this subject....I admit that I have been a little disturbed of late by a number of posts I've seen shared by friends which are either a little questionable, or in some cases, outright offensive. I'm not going to share any of them here as I don't wish to add to their distribution.  Just to clarify, they are mostly posts which scream of religious intolerance and general misunderstanding of the subject they speak of.

 I've been in two minds on many occasions to instantly remove those posters from my friends list.  The internal argument goes something like this:

Voice 1: "do it! you don't want to be associated with people who actually think like that! Anyone who would share that is a bigoted ass hole." 

Voice 2: "but they're your friend, you've know them for "X" years and you know that they don't actually have that opinion.  Maybe they're being sarcastic or missing the point."

Voice 1: "or maybe they've changed...you haven't seen them for a while, friends drift and people's opinions can be influenced.  Maybe they are that person now."

Voice 3: "but I don't actually know. Jumping to conclusions in either direction may make me the exact person that I'm condemning.  I need to think on this more."

I know I said two minds, but there's always a little voice of reason in there!
(P.S. I'm not actually crazy...I have been tested ;) )

I did challenge someone on a post lately...I pointed out the inconsistencies and errors, and the response I got was confusing.  The person responsible for the post replied saying that they agreed with me and that they wanted to understand more about why people wanted to do such bad things and "ruin our country".  I know that not everyone has a pre-determined level of common sense, but surely, if you want to understand something (in this case it was Islamic beliefs) then the way to do that is to ask questions, or read and learn for yourself...not post intolerant garbage on Facebook. 

Is it me who's missing the point? 

My internal argument therefore rages on...the myriad of voices bickering over whether or not to hit that de-friend button...I guess that in some ways actually writing this post may solve that problem for me....I'll let you now if my friend count inexplicably goes down once this is published!

There's always a drawback..

I've not been well this year...since my trip to India in January where I caught a nasty bout of india-belly I've struggled to regain any appetite or eat more than a small child in any one sitting.  Those of you who understand my love of food will know just how terrible this has been for me!  Many people have commented on the plus side of it however...that I have dropped about 4 stone (and still counting at present) without even thinking about it. I've even taking to eating higher calorie foods in order to take in a decent amount!  It's not been a  fun and healthy way to lose weight but it has had that outcome. 

So, I'd be happy about that right?...Surely thats every womans dream, to be able to eat chocolate and still lose weight..

Kinda.

Theres always some huge downsides to losing weight like this...

1. I've had to buy new clothes...OK so to most women this isnt a chore, but I'm terribly picky and have a very specific style, so clothes I like aren't always that available (or cheap!)...and I'm still shrinking so the ones I bought six months ago are already a size too big.  That sucks when you do get something you really like!

2.  It's baltic all the time! I just can't get warm and stay that way, I've been wrapped up like a yeti since the weather turned and everyone around me thinks I'm crazy...I also haven't gotten around to buying many winter clothes that fit me yet either so more shopping required! (boo hiss!)

3. I have bones...they stick out and hurt when I bump into things.  I'm pretty sure they were there before but with a helpful squishy covering to soften the bumps!

Don't get me too wrong, I'm not completely hating the weight loss, I do have a nice figure thats emerged from beneath my old insulation...I'm just writing this post as a warning to all those people out there desperate to lose weight thinking that it will be the answer to all their problems...just remember, once the weight has gone you have more fun to look forward to!

Negative...positive...negative?

I stumbled across this article online tonight.  Its titled: 10 jobs you can get with just your GCSEs.  I read it out of interest as I am one of the (seemingly unusual) people who has a brain but no degree - you may remember me talking about this is a previous post - I was hoping that someone was trying to show some positive news for those of us without this magic piece of paper...but alas, wrong again...the article basically reinforces the idea that in order to get a decent job you need a degree.  The jobs they list are:

Accounts Clerks
Receptionist
Medical Secretary
Customer Service Assistant
Waiting Staff
Engineering Maintenance Fitter
Fitness Instructor
Sales Representative
Care Assistants

Whilst this may dispel any concept that you must have a degree to even be considered for any job, these probably aren't the best selection to make someone really confident...they are only a step away from listing Binman and Street Sweeper (both of which probably pay equal or more than those they have listed!)


Yet again, MSN article authors must try harder!

Does my bum look big in this?

It's a subject pretty close to my heart as a *ahem* "larger lady" - I hate that term, I'd prefer "lady of goddess proportions" but you may not all get what I meant! - I read this article today which was been sparked by a furore caused by this photo....


I'd love to believe that its wrong, but this lady, a professional model, is classed as too fat to be a plus sized model. Yup - Too Fat! I think that theres quite a few people in the fashion industry and media who need to get their eyes (and minds!) tested! I'd recommend reading the comments at the bottom of the article, some of them made me angry, but I'm fully aware that not one of the people writing those would dare say anything like that to the face of anyone who is more than a size 10, and its just false bravado caused by being safely behind a keyboard at home.

Maybe I'm just very old fashioned when it comes to these things, after all, it seems that the modern idea of beauty is this....

yet go back 60 years and beauty was considered more like this..

Go back even further and we find this...

It may be because I like chocolate, or cake, and dislike running, but I'd rather be my curvaceous, rubenesque self, than a skinny waif anyday! Maybe if "normal sized" people were used in the fashion industry we would all feel a little better about ourselves rather than striving to reach an unachievable perfection