Rascals Returns

Nothing makes you as happy or picks you up when you are down or makes you jump up and down on your bed like your favourite childhood sweets!  That is why I am so freakin excited that my favourite candy is back on the market!  

For the past 5 years I've been moaning and complaining to anyone who would stand it about how I missed Rascal, and no one could understand why it ever went off the market.  Well now it doesn't matter because about two weeks ago I found out they will be back in stores from the 16th of July.  
However to my disappointment, the Gauteng are was (for a change) quite slow in getting them, or everyone else just beat me to it and bought everything, I don't know?  But that also doesn't matter anymore, because I found those little Rascals!!!!!  

I popped into a Clicks this morning, because yesterday my sister told me that a guy she works with found some there. (You see, I've got contacts...[waving my finger]) And there they were, still in there boxes, being packed on the shelves, so I grabbed a handful and ran...for the till.  And now I am happy.  

Rascals

All that is left now is for them to bring back the big plastic Rascal man shaped Rascal bottle filled with Rascals and I'll be over the moon.  And I still need to find some Sour Rascals, I only found the Fruit and the Mixed Berries flavours.  Oh and they need to bring back Fresca as well.


You can follow Rascals on their Facebook and Twitter pages.


Do you know what you should try the next time you go to movies or make popcorn at home: throw a packet or two of Rascals over all the popcorn, shake it a bit and enjoy.  I know it sounds weird, but trust me its awesome getting the crunchy salty popcorn with the chewy fruity (or sour) Rascals.  Learnt that from my sister.  Try it out!

Put Your Lighters Up

So yesterday evening i was at this fundraising dinner. I was invited by a very good friend of mine to accompany her to the event. The Help-net fund which takes care of kids in extremely bad homes and gives them a safe house to live in. What realy shook my world was the man who founded the organisation years ago urged everyone to please spend money during the auction and donate for the new house they are opening up.

And what really hit me in the stomach is he said if there is anyone in the room who can't afford to give R50 should raise up their hands because clearly you need it more than we do. And I sat there feeling the R100 in my pocket, which I had to borrow from a family member just so that I am able to by a drink for the friend I was with, I felt the R100 burn through my being, nudging me to put up my hand and say, well I don't. That same moment I feel guilty that while this man is speaking about giving money for kids who are in much dire situations than me, I'm still thinking of myself.

But then I though, well if I'm not doing good, then how can I help someone else? I also realise that the reason I was feeling bad was because I really, really wanted to contribute to helping these children, but becaus of my circumstances I simply wasn't able to, I could barely take care of myself, let alone someone else.

That feeling is shit. Pure shit. Luckily my mind didn't stop there, because I though about how important it is to realise these things. In that same moment when I wanted to put my hands up and admit in shame that I couldn't even spend R50, I also had the strongest desire and drive in me to get myself out of these circumstances and get to a point where I can whip out R8000 and say, "here you go, for helping others".

The last thing I'm going to bitch and moan about is the stigma connected to not having enough money or not being financially strong. Now it might be in my mind, but if it is, it's because people created this thing about it being bad if you aren't financially secure, but fuck that. I am not financially secure, I don't like it, but I'm not going to be ashamed of it and I'm also not expecting charity!

It gives me a drive to do things I want to do, and achieve things and ultimately be financially comfortable so that I can help those who can't help themselves, and inspire those who can help themselves to do so. It is more rewarding knowing that you rose from the ashes to greatness and that you worked your ass off getting there, so everything that you receive you truly deserve. And I've tasted that before, rising to greater heights. It might have been in small stretches, but they still felt amazing and I can only image how great it'll feel when I do a significant rise. And I know I can acheive it because I've been blessed with many talents, and God didn't create us to play it small, we are made in his image, and He is great, so it is expected of us to be great as well.

So here's to the fighters, the phoenixes, the dreamers and the believers. Carry on, even when it's at its darkest and there is no hope. Don't turn around and don't give up. Stay. Keep on. Soon you will see there has been a light all along, your eyes just needed to learn to see it. Keep fighting and put those lighters up so that others can see your light and find their own. (Yes, part of that was an Eminem lyric quote, it doesn't make it less true.)

A Leap of Faith!

For someone who prides them self at taking chances and trying new things, I do come to quite a shocking halt when reaching a cliff.


Okay, let me stop speaking metaphorically for a moment (only a moment). So many times I feel like running away when a new opportunity or challenge comes along. It is a knee-jerk response that I find quite strange and weirdly enough unnatural. Why are we so afraid of things that are unknown? I was afraid to go to University, did I make it out alive? Check. I was afraid I would never be able to drive a car, but now it is second nature! (weirdly enough not so unnatural)


So now for the first time in a long while, on my long journey to who knows where, I have come to a cliff in the road and the gap I need to jump is freakin huge! In fact I can't even see the other side of the cliff! How the heck will I reach the other side, that is if there is an other side?!


But then I think of all the other cliffs I've jumped over, sometimes I was pushed over and other times I had to trick myself to jump. And in that moment of remembering I get this strange sensation of just wanting to jump, just to see what will happen and it doesn't feel unnatural. Not jumping, not taking that leap of faith seems unnatural.


That is truly what a leap of faith is: leaping with all your might and carrying on and believing and knowing that once you have jumped the net will appear, because only once you've jumped you truly believe and only once you believe you will see God standing there with the net stretched ready to catch you. And if you miss the net, well He'll be standing by with some Mercurochrome.


So that is what I'll do. I'll take the chance. I'll accept the challenge. Even if the result was just me stretching my legs. Every time jumping a little further and with more flare each time. So, see you on the flip-side!




Ps. Just incase someone is reading this and thinking that they should really jump off an actual cliff, don't. That would be the opposite of a leap of faith. And that is quite unnatural. Stick it out for a little while more, it'll soon get better, and you'll be glad you stuck around.

Everyone loves free shit!

That really is the truth.  Getting something free can really lift your spirit on any shit day and make a good day even better!  I've always found it quite weird when people get all excited about stuff which I think is really quite stupid.  So stupid I can't even think of an example at the moment, because let's face it, I don't give a crap!  But, I have been thinking about it on occasion... (and it's not that I didn't know it, I just chose to not spend energy in trying to understand it) ...but I can understand why people react to things they like and suddenly turn into a child again, because every now and then I'll stumble upon something that makes me feel and want and act like a child again.  


One of those thinks is getting free stuff.  Blame it on my dry student life which I'm trying to shake of bit by bit (if only I didn't have that stupid study loan I would be able to shake it off quicker, but I'll get there), but free stuff makes you happy.  But there is something better that that though.  That is getting stuff you actually WANT for free.  


Luckily I discovered this one blogger who regularly gives away loads of awesome stuff - blog.spoongraphics.co.uk.  One of the posts that had me jumping in my seat, like that little closeted gay short guy, was this post with a couple of vector ornaments and flourishes.  And for that split second I understood and accepted every person who has ever annoyed me while going on and on about something they like which I simply could understand, because in that moment when I saw those free elements I was really excited and wanted to share my excitement with everyone.  Maybe next time I'll give a damn when someone wants to share their excitement and joy.  

Glee - S03E15 - We Think You Are Too Dumb For A Clever Storyline

I cannot begin to explain how disappointed I am with Glee, and I know it sounds strange because of my previous post.  I went on and on about how they are getting it right.  Well, I believe that that episode was simply a fluke.  It was a fantastic winter mid-season finale, and I've been counting down the days until the new episode.  I even stayed up until 2am to watch the episode, what a waste.


They reverted back to their old shlep of a ship.  Cliches around every corner, no real story line, I was bored out of my mind.  If it wasn't for Blaine's cute brother in this episode I would have said total waste of an hour in my life.  The Goyte song at the end was also a saviour for them, but I still prefer the original and it was a cheap trick on their part.  Luckily Blaine's rendition of 'Fighter' was fairly good, but only because I think that no one should cover that song.  It's one of those songs that only the original artist can sing... well that being said, maybe it's rather one of those songs which you can only listen to the original studio song, because even Christina Aguilera singing that live does not sound as good as the studio track.  But Blaine's version was fine, it was not a disaster, which in it self is difficult to pull off.

But the rest of the episode was pretty shit.  The whole new anti-texting campaign, Finn and Rachel's are-we-going-to-marry-or-not which has been going back and forth this whole season, the way they duck out of Quin's accident, and then Artie feeling all sad again because Quin does not want to accept her reality.  It's stupid and not well written.  And I don't know why?  Glee has an excellent writing staff.  The head writer, Ryan Murphy, has written many amazing scripts, just look at the 6 seasons of Nip/Tuck.

But that being said, I think that the bigger problem is the longevity of Glee.  Even though it is a musical TV show, it's not about the music, music is just another part of the story.  The premise of Glee is a bunch of miss-fitted teenagers who want to feel part of something special, thus they choose to win a national show choir competition.  So, they are now in senior year and this is their last shot.  If they win it this year, we are happy.  If they don't win it, we are bummed, but either way it should end this season.  As much as I love them making amazing covers of some of may favorite songs and teaching me some fantastic new songs, their time has come.  I thought that by them creating a proper new storyline in the previous episode that where going to be able to craft a new story arch which will lead them into a new breath on life and give them a few more seasons.  But no. No. No. No. Even if they do whip out some new rabbit, I'm not falling for it again.


I think once they know that this is their last season, they will also start writing towards a specific goal and once they do that the story will suddenly pick up and seem like they have their mojo back, but thats the point.  Every story should have a beginning, but most importantly an end.  I don't want to watch a story that isn't going anywhere, otherwise I would have watched something like Days of Our Lives or Bold and The Beautiful.  So FOX, please let Glee know that this is their last season and they should start writing towards an end.


All in all I don't want you leaving feeling all bothered by Glee (or this review if you don't agree) so I include a fun little number that they did which I really enjoyed (It was not in this episode though).

I also had to include this song.  Killer dance scene.  Old school!

Glee - S3E14 - On My Way

The first time in 2010 when I discovered Glee I was captivated from that first episode.  I think I watched that episode 9 times in the following two days.  The whole of season 1 was amazing all the way up to the finale with their awesome Journey set list.  Season two introduced new characters which I quickly fell in love with, interesting a daring storylines, but it started to go down slightly in season two.  Season 3 however I felt like they were losing me a bit.  I didn’t enjoy the songs and there wasn’t really a great storyline either.  That being said it was more of a case where they had 14 episodes of which 5 were kind of lost.  But as they drew closer to the mid-season finale, they got their old steam back.  And I think the reason is because they got a decent storyline again.  For quite a while in season 3 I wasn’t sure where they were heading and if they were even heading somewhere, but as I said, they found a story again and I could see it is moving forward. 

This episode in particular was a fantastic climax of various storylines and of the winter finale as well.  First I thought the other reason why I didn’t enjoy some of the previous episodes was because I didn’t know a lot of the songs.  This episode disproved that, because I didn’t know most of the songs, but they where earth shattering.  And I mean that.  For two days the song ‘Cough Syrup’ was stuck in my head, I bought it immediately on iTunes and I’ve been listening it on repeat for days and days.  The rendition of it is absolutely hauntingly beautiful.  And the scene that accompanies is truly amazing.  I’ve liked the Dave Karofsky character from that first day he bullied Kurt, not because he was a bully, but because even there I could see how much deeper his character is, and it is a testimony to Max Adler who plays the part, because I think Ryan Murphy also so it and that is why the character developed the way he did.  He was meant to be in this story from the beginning, whether the writers knew about it or not. 

Kurt Hummel, was a character which I though was stupid on the first episode, but the Chris Colfer who played him also brought something extra.  On the exterior it is this stereotype, but he quickly breaks all of them.  My initial prejudice might have also originated form my jealousy towards Chris Colfer for doing something I would have liked to do at an age younger than me, but he really is exceptional, I he quickly made me get over my hang-ups.  I really believe he deserves that Golden Globe and I think we are going to see amazing acting from him. 

I also have to give props to the writing team, because the way they say things and speak through the characters, well it’s absolutely amazing.  They have a way of saying something that sounds complex in my head in such a way that it makes all the sense in the world without having to use to many words. 

The cliffhanger, as predictable as it was, I was still shocked that they would go there, but also happy they went there.  It shows that they’ve decided to take risks with their characters.  Go places that you usually go in real life.  They are taking off the training wheels and pulling out all the proverbial stops.  I’m looking forward to seeing what else they have to offer and what new fantastic songs they will introduce to me.  What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

I’m surprised that I haven’t written about this film earlier.  I watched it last year while it was on circuit.  Well, all good things come to those who wait.  This is a phenomenal film.  Such a lovely story.  I am an enormous Emma Stone fan.  I absolutely adore her and every time I see her in a film I like her more and more. I think the reason I like her so much is because she reminds me a little bit of my one friend, Louren Bezuidenhout.  Such a vibrant personality, flaming red hair, always positive and heading somewhere.  The type of person who has so much fire they ignite everyone else’s passion around them just because they are do everything with such vigorous passion.  But ja.  I also like how Emma has a way of being super hot without even trying.  She is just who she is and does it in her goofy way and we all love her for that. 

Now I have never been such a huge Ryan Gosling fan, even after the whole The Notebook thing.  Boy has he worked on his body! It looks phenomenal!  Would work my ass off to look like that, so I’ll get there one day.  But his acting was also great, not that the role was exceptionally difficult, but it was a good role.  Steve Carell on the other hand had such a fantastic character and he played it perfectly.  Since Dan in Real Life I’ve had so much respect for him as an actor.  He can do funny, he can do heart breaking. He can do anything.  You have to see him in this role.  I really felt his pain and his joy and his struggle. 

Again, as I said in my previous post, I love Julian Moore, so the fact that she was in this film just made me want to watch it even more!  And it was a great joy to see her character go through this whole process.  Now Kevin Bacon, well… He was fit perfect for this role – a douche.  For some reason he likes being typecast as the asshole that no one likes and I also have to admit that the years have not been kind to his skin, but in the end he plays the role he is supposed to play very good.  I just wish he would try some new avenues and new types of roles to challenge himself.  I think he is a good actor and can do so much more than what he is doing right now.

So if you haven’t seen this film, go buy it or rent it as soon as possible.  If you don’t want to see it, change your mind.  It really is a great film, it has a good combination of comedy, romance, drama and heartbreak.  It is a real gem.  And it’ll give you a good excuse to make a huge bucket of popcorn and just stay in.