Hairstyling Tutorial - 'Peacock' Style

I would love to have the courage to style my hair any way I want to, and I really admire violinist Lindsey Stirling's 'Peacock' hairstyle.  It's fun and funky, and shows a really playful side to her personality.  She's 29 years old, which is only a few years younger than me, so I kind of figure if she can, why can't I?  It does look a little bit of effort to do, but if I were going to a party or some special occasion, then I think it would be worth it!

Here's Lindey's video where she shows you how to do it...

Hair Tutorial by Lindsey Stirling

Youtube video

Dreaming Big and Believing in Myself

“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your time tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow.”

 ~ Chris Hadfield, Canadian Astronaut

I love these words by Chris Hadfield, after watching him talk on Stargazing Live, he strikes me as both a very calm person but also excited.  He clearly is a person who follows his passions.  Reading his quotes on Goodreads.com, he talks about preparing yourself, just in case.  Not only as an astronaut preparing for potential disasters, but also as a person preparing yourself for what you really want to do in life.

"Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person. You may not get exactly where you thought you'd be, but you will be doing things that suit you in a profession you believe in. Don't let life randomly kick you into the adult you don't want to become.”

I feel so inspired by these words.  Like it doesn't matter that I might not be in a financial position to do whatever I wish I could do, that I don't have the right skills or opportunities to live the life of my dreams.  I can still learn and prepare for the time that this may happen.  And no matter what happens in my life, in preparing for what I dream about, I will be partly living the dream, by doing and learning what I love along the way.

When I allow myself to dream, when I watch movies and see people on TV doing the things I would love to do, I sometimes worry I haven't been learning to play a musical instrument from childhood, I haven't practised my art enough so my skills aren't as good as I would like.  I haven't kept my fitness up, I haven't learnt to dance from a child, how can I possibly become an elegant dancer now, surely it's much too late?

But I think there can be unexpected opportunities in your life, it is possible, even if they are only small opportunities to take part in a small local talent competition, should I pluck up the courage, if I don't prepare now, how will I ever be ready?  I think it was around this time last year I discovered a local talent competition, where you could enter now, and the competition would take place at the end of March.  I had a lovely daydream of how I could dig out my keyboard and actually learn to play it, for March.  But if I'd spent time learning how to play it before the competition arose, then I would have been prepared to take up the challenge of the competition.  I just hadn't prepared.  It is worth preparing and seeing where it leads you.

I could say well my time must be passed, I am in my early 30's now, I haven't studied these skills from an early age, I won't be good enough.  But then why not spend my time learning these skills now, having some fun, and being able to enjoy them in my life?  Why can't I follow my dreams and enjoy my life?  After all, I may not get where I dreamed of being, but I may find myself in rather a good spot after all!

#MusicMonday... Meet Violinist, Lindsey Stirling

I recently stumbled upon Lindsey Stirling's Youtube channel, and I'm so glad I did.  She is a very talented violinist, but what is most unusual about her is that she dances, whilst playing her violin, both in music videos and live on stage.  I find it captivating and absolutely beautiful.  I have seen her dance ballet as well as more funky modern stage dance style.  

I would love to be able to do what she does.  Though the violin may well be beyond me as a musical instrument (though to be honest, I've never tried it), I quite fancy trying some of the music she plays on Harmonica.  I think the sounds she makes on the violin would lend itself nicely to the sound of the Harmonica.  And I would really like to learn to play some classical music on Harmonica too.  I would no doubt struggle attempting to dance like that whilst playing Harmonica though, I very much doubt I could hold my breath steady for playing the notes whilst leaping and kicking my legs up, though it would be so much fun to try!

I think one of my favourite videos by Lindsey Stirling is the cowboy western themed Roundtable Revival, it's fun and funky, and I love Lindsey's wardrobe in this.  I would love to feel confident enough to express myself with hair, make-up and fashion choices like this.  

Lindsey Stirling - Roundtable Revival

Youtube video

I love that she is quirky and fun. and really expressive in her music videos and performances, with beautifully matched dance choreography, full of personality and sass, and beautiful costumes to suit the music.  A true inspiration.  And so full of encouragement and kindness to her fans, she wishes them the best and to truly believe in themselves, believe in their dreams, and work at making their own dreams come true.  How lovely is that?

And just because I can't get over how awesome she is, here is another music video by Lindsey Stirling, where she teams up with Lzzy Hale from the rock band Halestorm, to perform Shatter Me.  An amazing video with a beautiful story and fantastic special effects, and I love the steampunk theme.  I can fast see me wanting a Lindsey Stirling album!  Enjoy.

Lindsey Stirling featuring Lzzy Hale - Shatter me

Youtube video

#MusicMonday... David Bowie (Labyrinth)

It seems particularly appropriate to feature David Bowie in my #MusicMonday slot on my blog today.  I think the whole country, and possible the world, is in shock today.  No one knew David Bowie had cancer, that he'd been diagnosed with it 18 months ago, and knew he was going to die.  He was busy working on a broadway musical, and a brand new album, Blackstar, which appears to be a way for him to say goodbye to his fans.  So today's news of his death came as quite a shock.  I have spent most of today listening to radio specials celebrating the life and music of David Bowie, googling him, reading his Wikipedia page and exploring his website.  He's someone that's always been there throughout my life, and somehow I never thought of going.

I think the first time I really noticed David Bowie was as a child, when I first watched Labyrinth, the fantasy movie in which he played Jareth, the Goblin King.  He was charismatic and otherworldly, with a hauntingly beautiful voice.  I loved the songs and I loved the character.  I've heard a lot of David Bowie's well known, and some less well known songs on the radio today, but very little mention of Labyrinth, and the amazing soundtrack he did.  So today I'd like to share a music video from the movie, featuring one of David Bowie's songs, As The World Falls Down.  A beautiful ethereal scene, which somehow reminds me of the mythical story of Persephone and Hades, when Hades attempts to seduce Persephone into staying in his world forever, never to return to the world above.  As I think this video shows, it would be tempting to stay.  Enjoy.

David Bowie - As The World Falls Down

from Labyrinth

Photo Credit:  Image cropped from the Labyrinth Movie Poster

OMG, They made a new Independence Day movie!

I LOVED this movie in the 90's, and I had no idea they were even going to make a new one, let alone that they have already done it, and created a trailer, for a summer (June) 2016 release.  Wow!

The original movie was EPIC!  It had Bill Pullman as the president of the United States of America, Jeff Golblum as a seemingly insignificant guy who wanted to save the planet - and he literally got to do just that, on a hugely epic scale!  The original movie had awe, and huge spacecraft looming over our skylines, like the characters in the movie, you gaped open-mouthed at the marvels of a far superior alien race arriving to annihilate you.  

Well they're back, and so are key members of the original cast, including Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, and the guy who played his father (Judd Hirsch I think, loved his character).  I haven't seen Will Smith yet, but it appears Liam Hemsworth is in this movie, possibly playing a similar role to Will Smith's daredevil pilot, and perhaps 'a little eager to whoop ET's ass!'

From the trailer below, the new Independence Day: Resurgence looks just as fantastically epic as the original, made 20 years later, and I can't wait to see it!

Independence Day: Resurgence - Official Movie Trailer

Youtube video

New Music Monday... Train - Shake Up Christmas

Continuing my New Music Monday feature, where I introduce you songs and music artists you may not have stumbled across before, I'm starting a new theme for the month of December: festive songs for the season!  I'm picking some of my favourite tracks that don't get a lot of airtime on UK radio, even though they were released quite recently in comparison to some of our old favourites.  I really like it when an artist chooses to create a whole new song for Christmas instead of covering an old song we already know and love that's been covered about a million times.  It's great to hear something new that evokes the feeling of Christmas today.

And this week I'm featuring Train, an American rock band with Shake Up Christmas.  A fun catchy song, with a fun little story in the video, showing kindness and goodwill in a modern way, though still including Santa Claus.  Enjoy!  

Train - Shake Up Christmas

Youtube Video

If you enjoyed watching the above video and would like to see more, you might like to know that Train have a new Christmas album out, exclusively on Amazon, called Christmas In Tahoe.  On it they include this single which was originally released in 2010, covers of favourite Christmas songs, (including a cover of Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody), as well as their brand new song, Christmas Island.  

Have fun getting in the festive spirit, and I'll bring you some more festive cheer next week!

A Life Full Of Trees

Growing up in Lancashire in the North West of England, I was surrounded by trees.  Even though I lived in a city, many trees grew in and overhanging my school grounds, trees lined many streets, filled city parks, and one even grew directly outside my house.  A big old tree, a maple I think.  I remember as a child standing in the middle of my street, looking up into the beautiful light green canopy that shaded my road, and throwing a tennis ball straight up through it, to slowly come back down and let me catch it.  I couldn’t reach the top myself, but somehow, sending my ball up there and back, it was as if I could touch a little piece of magic. 

Trees form a huge part of our childhood, somehow they naturally feel safe to us, as if they are tall, wise guardians watching over us.  Instinctively we want to reach out a hand and touch their bark.  It’s tactile and secure, encouraging us to climb and explore.  In my early years at school, I remember taking a piece of paper, placing it against a tree trunk, rubbing a crayon over it, creating the texture of the bark directly onto my paper. 

My earliest natural toys came from trees, the helicopter like sycamore seed that twirls and spirals its way to the ground, as if designed to capture the attention of a child, to pick it up and twirl and twirl, transporting it to a new destination - a natural way to spread its seeds.  A pine cone also captures a child’s imagination, another tactile delight to behold.  I remember running my fingers over it’s strange shape, taking it home to put on my windowsill, then watching it open and close depending on the weather, displaying the humidity level like a natural hygrometer. 

And of course there were the conker games the boys would play on the way to school, at breaktimes, playtimes, hometimes, and any time they could get away with it when the teacher wasn’t looking! 

On the trip to and from school I would love crunching the crisp autumn leaves under my feet, giving me an enormous amount of pleasure, and a huge smile across my face.  A happy and carefree feeling is the gift nature gives to you. 

Trees are with us, right through our school years and beyond into adulthood.  They teach us about the world around us, help us learn how to read, to write, and to draw.  It wasn’t until a teacher wrote in my exercise book “Don’t Waste Trees!” on a half page I’d skipped to start at the top of the next page that I really thought about where my paper comes from.  It is in fact, from trees.  If you are indoors as you read this, I imagine you will be surrounded by the products of trees.  For example, I am using a laptop sat on a wooden folding desk; I have a paper calendar hanging on the wall, and a paper diary next to me with all my To Do List items on it.  There are paperback novels on my shelves, hardback reference books on a taller bookcase, and magazines I’ve recently enjoyed reading strewn to my side.  I also have photos in frames printed on photo paper, a wooden door, and wooden floorboards under my carpet.  In many buildings heat is produced by coal and log fires, staving off the cold and keeping us warm.  Trees really do provide our shelter, our education, images of our loved ones held dear to us, and fire off our imaginations in novels and fantasy art images on calendars. 

Within the pages of C.S. Lewis’s, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, we really do discover a whole new world.  Lucy discovers a huge old wardrobe in a spare room, within it are thick fur coats to wade through, and through the back… paradise.  And what does paradise look like?  A beautiful wood forest covered in snow.

Trees contain our history, our memories are closely interlinked with them.  And because trees can live to hundreds of years old, many have far greater histories attached to them, farther back before we were even born.  Some have witnessed epic battles, historic town meetings that took place beneath their boughs before townspeople thought to build town halls.  Many years of history are wrapped up in trees, hidden within their many layers of age, wisdom and memories. 

And yet trees, that are far older than any historic listed building, are not listed.  There is no register or listing that protects ancient trees from being uprooted and demolished.  Surely we should protect trees as much as they have protected us?  They have looked after humankind for hundreds of years, sheltered us, educated us, and kept us warm from the cold outside.  Surely we can take a small step to thank them for all they have done for us, by protecting them from damage and destruction by us, preserving them for future generations to come, so that they too can learn the history and the beauty that lies within these ancient trees. 

The Woodland Trust is attempting to do just that, to create a national register of important trees, to give them the same protection as historic listed buildings.  Please show your support by sending a short message through the Woodland Trust’s Very Important Trees page.  Together, we can make a difference.  Because life’s better with trees.

Photo Credits:  Images used with Flickr Creative Commons License.  Image 1 by Peter O'Connor, Image 2 by Lordspudz, Image 3 by Matei Domnita.