Get the "Gossip girl look!"

Right now I’m loving the fashion trends set by the hit U.S TV show “Gossip Girl” each of the main girls has their own unique style that can vary between casual/quirky & my favourite “classy” here is a quick guide on how to get the look.

Serena van der Woodsen
This Upper East Side It girl amps up her school ensemble with grey suede over-the-knee boots, which are perfect for running around town with her Brooklyn BF, Dan Humphrey. Serena van der Woodsen's style is similar to that of Kate Moss, who looks amazing even though she probably just throws things on! Her disregard for high society shows in her fashion, which is bohemian, casually cool and all-American all in one. She loves hats, scarves and her huge collection of boots, which she wears with everything from school uniforms & dresses to skinny jeans & leggings.

Blair Waldorf
Spotted - Blair Waldorf looking prim and polished from head-to-toe in her school uniform blazer, Victorian-style blouse and of course, her signature bow hairband, pearl bracelet & "B" diamond necklace. Like the penthouse apartment she lives in, this queen bee enjoys the finer things in life, like diamonds, pearls & anything designer. Blair's look is inspired by chic, feminine pieces of Old Hollywood, but she's also into argyle sweaters & button-down shirts with pretty details on the cuffs & collar, as she's the preppiest of the girls on the Upper East Side.

Jenny Humphrey
Jenny Humphrey doesn't have the big budget of S and B, so she buys her clothes from vintage shops & sews & recreates them into cool pieces. She also mixes it up with designer castoffs that she gets from Blair to create a unique look that's all her own! She spices up her school uniform with cute accessories like funky flats & bags, colorful tights, knee socks&loads of bangles - she even wears hair elastics that double as bracelets!

What I'm watching...

Ross Kemp on gangs (the 4th series)
Kenya Special, - meeting the Mungiki

In this 90-minute special, Ross Kemp and his BAFTA winning documentary team travel to Kenya to investigate the Mungiki, an outfit labelled as the most dangerous ‘gang’ in Africa.Gaining access to the Mungiki is notoriously difficult, but Ross manages to meet with its top three members at the home of their imprisoned leader, Jenga. Grilling them about a grisly reputation that includes decapitation and torture, he is thrown by their denial. The men are adamant that the fear surrounding the Mungiki has been propagated by the government in a bid to disable them. They maintain that the government is the real culprit.By gaining the trust of the Mungiki, Ross travels to locations then out of bounds to most ordinary Kenyans, let alone foreign reporters. His time with the Mungiki coincides with a bloody government crackdown on the Mungiki. Ross discovers that Kenya is still far from peace as finds himself in the middle of several riots as the Police round up Mungiki members.

What I'm watching...

Vinnie Jones: Toughest Cops

Episode 3: South Africa

For 43 years, South Africa was a nation divided by the rules of apartheid, but when freedom finally came in 1991, the suffering continued with more than 300 murders and violent attacks taking place every day. Cameras follow cops in Durban as they bust drug dealers, conduct a raid searching for illegal firearms, and chase and confront a group of armed robbers in a busy central Durban shopping centre. Worth watching for the ATM robbers alone - their way of robbing an ATM is by blowing it up, South Africa has the highest rate of ATM robberies in the world.. now I can see why.

Photography blog launched

when I first started this blog I intended to post some of my photography work but there really is so much now that I had to create a separate blog just for that, even though I’m going to be keeping this blog up to date I will of course be constantly updating the photography one too. photography has always been a huge part of my life & not just a hobby but a passion. if anyone wants to subscribe then feel free to do so & also any comments are more than welcome whether they be of praise or criticism.

http://lisa-tiffany-photography.blogspot.com

Random photoshopping work

Just some random photoshop work I have finished over the last few days - more coming soon

Image is property of iStockPhotos.com (original photographer Alexey Klementiev)

Doll domination - PCD

I was really excited about the release of the pussycat dolls new album today & had high expectations, and I’m happy to say it lived up to them. The pussycat dolls first made it big with their hit single “dont’cha” of course after the success of the single promo deals & tour dates soon followed along with even more hits and an album. This second album titled “doll domination” is slightly more darker than their previous album, it deals with more real life issues such as relationships & growing up. Leaving behind their trademark cabaret covers & tunes seems to have worked out for the band & not only do they pack in enough songs to keep you going until they release another album but they also include solo work from each band member - its clear when they first released their first material they were unsure of their sound & were spending a lot of time experimenting with different ideas & its looks like all their work has paid off. To me the songs sound like they could all be incorporated on stage for a live performance, personally I think they could have cutback on some of the other artists featured like snoop dogg & missy elliot but surprisingly enough the track featuring r kelly “out of this club” seems to work really well. a lot of critics are saying this album may be heading towards the bargain bins & there have been a lot of mixed reviews on their return so its really unclear what the outcome will be - I just know I like it & would definitely recommend it to any pussycat doll fans out there.

“qu'ils mangent de la brioche”

Oh yes one of the many highpoints of my day was baking a big chocolate monstrosity of a cake, instead of baking my usual batch of chocolate chip cookies I decided to give baking a cake a try & I’m happy to say the results are better than I expected! Weighing about the same as a bowling ball this cake is possibly the chocolatiest thing I will ever eat.. Of course I’m not going to eat the whole thing myself, I know if I was to undergo the selfish task of eating the whole thing myself there is a real chance of me dieing from a choc overdose not to mention blowing up so for now it will reside in the kitchen & not in my belly I can always eat the cookies while I come to a decision about the cake = )

I'm feeling arty = )

I uploaded some art on myspace today, most are scans of drawings & sketches I did over the last few months. Most of them range from anime style to films & music inspired, I’m not sure of all of them but I thought it would be worth putting them out there to see what people think, art was my favourite subject in school & I still love to draw & create art. I will be adding more over the next few weeks & hopefully more photography work too, at the moment I post all my new photography work & shots on myspace - including personal galleries. The one that I like the most has to be St anger, I took the idea from the metallica album of the same name, the original drawing was done in about 5mins with just a pen & an A4 sheet of paper - the finished piece is all paint based with different techniques like smudging used to create the backdrop & sky. The anime drawings are a mix of my own personal style of drawing & of the bratz animation, random robotguy is of course my own design & I’m not really sure if I like the finished colours, all art & drawings can be commented on through myspace = )

Palins yahoo account was a simple hack

Experts explained that Sarah Palin could have easily avoided the whole embarrassment related to her email address by making use of some simple security practices. The hacker gained access to the Republican vice Presidential candidate’s account by resetting the password so it was no work of art. He forced a password reset by answering questions about Palin’s birth date, zip code and where she met her spouse, Wasilla High School. The group that calls itself "Anonymous," announced that it had cracked into Palin's Yahoo account in a message posted on a site that regularly posts confidential documents. The group posted five screenshots, two digital photos of Mrs Palin's family and an address book to the whistle-blowing Wikileaks website. The hackers also claimed that the information was taken from Ms Palin's gov.palin@yahoo.com e-mail account. The FBI and the US Secret Service have now begun a formal investigation into the attack and who may have been behind it. The hackers used the CTunnel proxy service. Moreover the screenshots for the attack lead to the original web address used by the proxy which may help investigators track down the hackers. Though federal law prohibits the unauthorized access of someone's e-mail account, the Department of Justice's interpretation of one particular case might only hold the Palin hackers accountable for accessing unopened messages. Under DOJ's interpretation, the Palin hackers might only be prosecuted for accessing e-mails the Alaska governor had not yet opened. Based on the data leaked by the hackers, it is not clear if they opened any unread messages.

New 007 bond theme announced

Its official the new james bond theme has been announced, the song called “another way to die” was written & produced by jack white of the White Stripes. Not only did he write the track but he also performs on the song alongside Alicia keys - its also rumoured the track will feature on the a commercial for the drink sprite zero. In the past the music played an integral part in every bond movie - the last movie casino royale had chris cornells “you know my name” & it was a hit, before that such artists as Madonna, sheryl crow, tina turner, duran duran, garbage & many more all provided solid sounding songs for the bond movies however this latest track by alice keys & chris cornell just doesn’t cut it. At the very start of the song the music sounds like something from the remake of the hills have eyes & as it nears the middle of the track it just gets worse, its such a shame that the music is so bad because like all bond movies the music plays such an important part of the overall movie. It has also been confirmed that David Arnold will also return to compose the actual score of the movie, Arnold has also scored the previous “tomorrow never dies“ “the world is not enough” “die another day” & “casino royale” & if his past movies are anything to go by then the score will makeup for the awful sounding keys & the terrible song writing of jack white.

What I'm watching...

Ross Kemp on gangs (the 4th series)

Episode 2 - Belize, - Cocaine trafficking

Belize is the smallest country in the whole of the Americas with a population of just over 300,000, but since becoming a major transit point for cocaine trafficked from Colombia to the US in the late 1980s, it’s developed a serious gang problem and become one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

Until recently, guns and cocaine were practically unheard of in Belize. Today the country is facing a massive crack cocaine problem, there are hundreds of semi-automatic weapons in the hands of gangs and the country has a per capita murder rate 5 times higher than the US, 98% of it gang-related.

Ross meets reformed gangsters who introduce him to the dangerous streets of Belize City and the gangs that control them. Ross gets to see a fraction of the weapons that make this city so violent, including grenades and high explosives, the new weapon of choice for the dozens of gangs which control Belize City.

What I'm watching...

Vinnie Jones: Toughest Cops

Episode 2: El Salvador

Following a bloody 12-year civil war, El Salvador has seen an explosion in gang violence since a ceasefire was agreed in 1992.
Incredibly, more people have been killed as a result of gun violence since the war ended than during the conflict itself.

Located on the Pacific Coast, El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. But with a population of seven million it’s also the most densely populated in all the Americas.
The cops:Among the country’s 16,000 police officers are the elite GOPES special operations group, the UMO riot squad and the gang-busting Interceptores.

The enemy: Gangs are the main problem here. The two biggest are at war: Mara Salvatrucha or MS and 18th Street. Living within metres of each other they are involved in drugs, armed robbery, extortion, kidnapping and murder. Because gang violence has reached such a high level it was made illegal for anyone to be a member of a gang or even associate with one. It’s easy for the cops to spot them as most are covered in gang tattoos.

The stats: With nearly 10 murders every day it’s a very dangerous place to live – police statistics suggest that a crime is committed every minute. Weapons are everywhere, with one in five people carrying a gun and hand grenades selling for just a dollar. El Salvador has a prison capacity of 7,500 but it’s estimated that there are nearly 19,000 criminals locked up, so the cops have to focus on gang leaders rather than low-level hoods just to keep the jails from bursting.On average 13 cars are hijacked or stolen every day and used for robberies and murders.Every month 1,000 gang members are deported back to El Salvador from the United States.

The risks: In El Salvador one cop is killed every month. In 2006 a student protest over bus fares which turned violent saw two officers killed and a further 16 seriously injured.

The weapons: The cops are toting Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine guns, with every GOPES officer carrying nearly 200 rounds of ammunition, while the gangs favour AK-47 assault rifles.

Trivium release "Shogun"

Trivium first formed in 2000 in Orlando Florida, since then they have released 4 studio albums with “shogun” being their latest. Riding on the success of ascendancy & the crusade Trivium continue to pound out a lethal assault of new wave american heavy metal that even rock gods Metallica would be proud of. The album follows a Japanese theme & concentrates mainly on the legends of the once powerful samurai. The tracks themselves feel more at place than ever before & its clear Trivium as a band are more confident than ever, tracks like “torn between scylla & charybdis” & “into the flames of hell we march” really show how strong their lyrics are with their huge engorging solos. One that will appeal to the fans would have to be “insurrection” as its sonically breathtaking & it goes right back to the days of early Trivium while “down from the sky” will appeal to anyone & is very radio friendly - no doubt it will be their next major single. I have to say Trivium never used to do anything for me & I felt they were just following the formula of a lot of other bands but with shogun they have formed their own sound with more mature lyrics/harder hooks & gripping riffige, they have a lot of completion at the moment with the likes of Metallica & Slipknot all releasing new material but with this album at least they have a fighting chance.

Tracklisting

1. Kirisute Gomen
2. Torn Between Scylla And Charybdis
3. Down From The Sky
4. Insurrection
5. Into The Mouth Of Hell We March
6. Throes Of Perdition
7. He Who Spawned The Furies
8. Of Prometheus And The Crucifix
9. The Calamity
10. Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven
11. Shogun
12. Poison, The Knife Or The Noose (bonus track)
13. Upon The Shores (bonus track)
14. Iron Maiden (bonus track)

Being drunk in public will get you fined (IRL)

Anyone caught in Ireland being drunk in public will be fined on the spot
Apparently a new legislation is giving the gardai the power to fine people on the spot for being drunk in public, and of course if you don’t pay the fine you can face prosecution through our lovely courts system. It works out as 100 Euro for being drunk in public - & 140 Euro for being drunk & disorderly. I thought that all was a joke but no its actually true, of course anyone will tell you that the gardai have no hope in getting that fine to work for them - I can see it now

Guarda: I’m fining you for being drunk, that will be 100 Euro if you fail to pay that now you will be going to see the judge

Drunk person: ah feck off ya big pack of rashers

Guarda: move along then

About 80% of people wandering through Dublin on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday even Sunday night are drunk & if the government were to get 100 euros off each person (including me) they could more than afford to drag us out of the current recession we are facing, the truth is the government are such a corrupt bunch of wankers that the money would be going to buy them all new cars. I for one cant see that fine ever working nor can I see anyone being prosecuted for not paying up, especially if speeding cameras are anything to go by.

Cornershot kitty

In these times of war new weapons & innovations are needed to defeat the enemy & as the enemy changes so do the tools for fighting them - I’m feeling a very Robocop kind of moment coming on as I introduce to you all the.. Cornershot kitty! Yes here to save the day is a stuffed cat. As you can see this is no ordinary stuffed kitty oh no not by a long shot, this kitty means serious business. The stuffed kitty is mounted onto a rifle that has the ability to turn at a 90 degree angle - hence corner shot. The person firing the weapon looks through a built in monitor while still having sufficient cover from enemy fire, the kitty it seems is a clever ploy at disguising the rifle from detection. Designed by the Israelis the standard rifle usually has an automatic pistol while some other models pack a grenade launcher, apparently the rifle has already been sold in 15 countries what’s not clear is how many people actually mount the kitty add-on onto theirs - imagine the shame of it, shot with a stuffed cat what a way to go.

Banged up abroad (2006 - 2008)

For those of you who are not familiar with the series it was first aired on British TV back in 2006 & since then it has been aired in many other countries including Sweden/Denmark &new Zealand. Each episode is set in a different country with a different story about an individual or individuals who spent time in prisons abroad usually involving smuggling drugs or victims of kidnapping. One of the most high profile stories that are featured is that of the Sandra Gregory a British woman who was convicted for trying to smuggle heroin out of Thailand, she faced 25 years in jail but would have easily gotten the death penalty. After serving time in a Thai prison she was then transferred to a maximum security prison in the UK but was later released after getting a royal pardon from the king of Thailand - others featured were not so lucky. Each episode follows the same structure where they mix in interview footage of the person with a reconstruction of the events mentioned. Very often the prisons featured are some of the most violent & overcrowded places on earth, the conditions are extremely inhumane with little or no sanitation. While some come close to losing their sanity & some even experience moments of torture everyone featured eventually makes it back home to get their story told but a certain few finish their story in handcuffs as they are still serving time, of course after every story being told they express a deep regret for the actions that got them banged up. Its common knowledge that smuggling drugs no matter how you go about it is illegal in every country & in most cases the people doing it get caught, its also so true that not just drug cartels do it but that ordinary everyday people get suckered into being mules for the cartels. In almost every case it seems that the people who opt to be mules put opportunity before common sense & it always ends in a the worst way possible, a harsh lesson for all involved & a tough reality check for anyone that’s ever been tempted of trying the deadly business of smuggling makes this a must see series. The easiest way to watch each episode is through you tube using a simple search of the title.

Some of the countries featured include Mexico, Venezuela, Thailand, Peru, Australia, Nepal, Columbia, Pakistan, & Bangladesh.

What I'm watching...

Vinnie Jones: Toughest Cops

Everyone knows who Vinnie Jones is, former footballer turned actor with a tough guy image. In this series he sets out to inform us about some of the worlds toughest police forces & the threats they face, straight away it feels like a copy cat job of ross kemps gang series especially with Columbia being the first hotspot he investigates, oh but there is a big difference here.. Why is Jones not featured himself? Well the answers easy, he’s not visiting these locations! He’s only lending his voice as a narrator. While the story of the series is interesting I don’t have anything good to say for having Vinnie Jones promoting it, so is he a footballer or a sports commentator? Because he sure is no ross kemp & the fact he doesn’t step foot in any of these countries just proves he is all mouth & no action.

Episode 1: Colombia

Plagued by guerrilla conflict, kidnapping and drug cartels worth billions of pounds, on an average day in Colombia someone is murdered every 30 minutes and four people are kidnapped.
With a population of 45 million, Colombia is one of the largest countries in Latin America. Bang in the middle sits the infamous capital, Bogota, home to seven million people.

The cops: Four different units are taking on the world’s deadliest criminals: the drug squad, anti-kidnapping snipers, the Metropolitan police and the SAS-trained COPES commandos.

The enemy: The FARC, which stands for The Revolutionary Armed forces of Colombia, have terrorised the nation for over forty years. Originally the military wing of the Colombian Communist party, the guerrilla force aims to overthrow the government and install a communist state. Their bloody campaign has been financed through kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking. Tens of thousands have died in the conflict and the guerrillas are responsible for more police deaths than any other form of criminal activity.

The stats: 15,000 people a year are killed by firearms, and more than three million illegal guns are estimated to be on the streets.Two thirds of the world’s kidnappings take place here, averaging four a day.Colombia is the world’s number one producer and exporter of cocaine: ever year 700 hundred tons are produced, with a UK street value of £28 billion.

The risks: Four policemen are killed every week in Colombia.

The weapons: More than two per cop, including M4 carbines, M203 grenade launchers, Glock pistols, AR10 sniper rifles and Blackhawk helicopter-mounted GUA-17 Mini-guns.

Random Craziness...

As we all know most of what is on the internet is either rubbish or porn so that leaves about 10% maybe 15% of quality material however there is also a great selection of crazyness out there too & just recently today I came across this interesting site.. At first I thought it was a joke but no the guy is a real preacher & has “followers” be afraid be very afraid, anywho here’s just a small sample of his “teachings”

IS SATAN IN POSSESSION OF AN ALIENSPACESHIP AND ITS HUMANOID CREW?
Satan and say 665 of his highest and most wicked demons (NEPHILIM) ) Enter Into the dead and dying Martian Alien Bodies (SONS OF GOD) and animate them. Now Satan and his demons can function in human form, well a larger version of the human form. Satan could have repaired any damage to the Martian Spaceship and THE DEVIL IS NOW AIRBORNE, HIGH TECH LUCIFER!

It is also possible that Satan and his fallen angels found a crashed Spaceship buried in the ice of the north pole. In either scenario, the devil would be in possession of both alien bodies and super advanced Alien technology.
In The Gospel, JESUS called Satan the "father of all lies". So it comes as no surprise that Satan is the Author of The Santa Claus Lie. (Santa being an anagram for Satan).

ALL SANTA-LOVERS WILL BE CAST INTO THE GREAT TRIBULATION (ALONG WITH THE WORLD) AS THE LAST CHANCE TO REPENT OF THIS LIE AND EVERY OTHER LIE AND SINFUL PRACTICE A "CHRISTIAN" MAY ENDULGE IN, FROM DRUNKENNESS, ADULTERY, UNFORGIVENESS, TO JEALOUSY AND INTERNET PORN.

So there you have it, prepare for the great return of Santa & all that. Word has it that he will be flying a UFO or something similar, I don’t know about you but I will be watching the skies this December 25th, & heres the site if anyone wants to have a look = )

http://www.satansrapture.com

Lookie Cookie!

Yes its official I can bake, earlier today I baked up a batch of yummy chocolate chip cookies & brownies, they came out so well that I’m ever so chuffed with results. The total number of cookies is now 22 & of course I’m going to share them.. Or maybe not! After all it was me who went to the effort of getting the ingredients together & making said cookies, what’s next? I don’t know! Maybe a cake! Or 2 cakes! A big chocolate fudge cake ..yumm, so if anyone needs a professional cookie baked then give me a shout & I will see what I can do (disclaimer cookies will not be honoured even if payment is received) so I’m off to now to give the cookies a nice home, as cookie monster would say noMNnomNomNOm...

Unreleased movies i need to see!

Body of lies (10th october)
Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius's 2007 novel about a CIA operative, Roger Ferris, who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan.

Max payne (17th october)
Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent (Wahlberg) whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin (Kunis) out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

Saw v (24th october)
Forensics expert Hoffman (Mandylor) goes on the hunt in order to protect the secret that he is the newest person to carry on Jigsaw's legacy.

Quantum of solace (14th november)
Seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country's water supply.

Transporter 3 (26th november)
Jason Statham’s back as Frank Martin the octane driven ex-mercenary.

Punisher: war zone (5th december)
After hunting down and killing hundreds of violent criminals, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, faces his most deadly foe yet: Jigsaw.

The day the earth stood still (12th december)
remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth

Sin city 2 (2010)
In the dark bowels of Sin City, Dwight plans to have his vengeance against the woman who betrayed him, Ava Lord, while Nancy is trying to cope with Hartigan's death.

Hollywood Undead release debut album!

Hollywood undead have finally released their debut album! And its been a long time coming - about 3 years. Who are Hollywood undead you may ask? They are an internet phenomenon that first appeared on myspace back in 2005, when they first arrived on the scene they quickly dominated the play lists of myspaces many unsigned bands & within 3 weeks had over a million plays, the following year they reached a staggering 8 million plays! In the run-up to their debut album they released many singles & a number of popular Eps that helped them build up a steady fan base. The albums title “swan songs” is said to represent what a swan is said to sing before it dies & they are said to have chosen the name because it reflects their time in the band. Due to originally be released back in 2007 the band changed labels because they wanted more freedom in their lyrics & less censorship, & so a year later they release the full uncensored album, after listening to the full album I would say they have a good shot at making it big & possibly hitting the mainstream, the main problem they face is not really having a specific style but that they tend to go from hip hop to rap to metal - its unclear if they will get the same following they have been getting through myspace but if the cleanly polished lyrics & production are anything to go by then expect to see them in a CD store near you.

http://www.myspace.com/hollywoodundead

What I'm watching...

Ross Kemp on gangs (the 4th series)
Episode 2 - Bulgaria, - Pick pockets

With an estimated population of 12 million, the Roma gypsies are the biggest ethnic minority in Europe. The poorest of the poor they’re an often marginalized minority reportedly involved in drug trafficking, pick pocketing and human traffic. Ross travels to Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, to uncover the truth about one of the most despised ethnic groups in Europe. He is there to find out if the allegations against them are true, and if they are true, what impact the gypsy gangs are having on the streets of Britain.

Mercenaries 2 - PS3 review

The eagerly awaited sequel to 2005 hit Mercenaries is back, set this time in Venezuela the story revolves around the hunt for Ramon Solano a political player in Venezuela who hires you for the job but then refuses to pay, following a coup he then tries to seize control of the countries vast oil supplies. The three playable characters from the first game all back Jennifer Mui, Mattias Nilsson & Chris Jacobs, my favourite has to be Jennifer. As you make progress through the game you will have to choose to either fight alongside or fight against various factions such as the peoples liberations army & the universal petroleum corporation, depending on how you choose to fight you can purchases weapons & supplies from different factions. Each faction offers jobs & contracts for you to carry out such as assassinating a rival or destroying a specific building or target, by attacking other factions they will start to view you as hostile & do everything in their power to take them out - however because the game centres around making huge amounts of money from contracts you can use that money to bribe factions who see you as hostile, money can also be used to purchases weapons, supplies, vehicles both military & civilian, even air strikes. The first game made a big impact when it first launched because it offered an open world with sandbox styled gaming (think Gta & streets of nyc/la - saints row etc) this new instalment offers even more - countless numbers of weapons, tons of air strikes, & well over 170 unique vehicles from helicopters to sports to tanks & even boats - another change from the original is the characters ability to swim. The map this time around seems absolutely massive, with a multitude of different environments from jungles to cityscapes even islands & oilrigs, instead of the deck of 52 as seen in the previous game the bounty system is split up into HVTs (high value targets) these targets will be offered by different factions for cash rewards. One of the newest features to the game is the unique fire effects engine that allows players to set fire to areas of foliage, this can be helpful when you want to clear out areas of the jungle to get at your target, another new feature is the drop in drop out co-op play, you can join another persons game no matter where in the game they are & assist them in completing their mission or even the whole game. With the release of the game came some obvious controversy from the Venezuelan government, they accused the game developers of drumming up support to start a real-life invasion of their country in order to overthrow Hugo Chavez… of course that’s not the purpose of the game & at the end of the day its really only entertainment but then controversy sells - and if the sales of the latest Grand theft auto are anything to go by developers will continue to latch onto controversial topics & storylines in the hopes to make millions.

Rainy day .. go away!

Today felt like the wettest day of the year & of course there were hints of winter setting in, so how to deal with this beautiful Irish weather? Well if you were a fish it would be great but then obviously if you were a fish you couldn’t read this so I’m going to assume there are no fish with reading skills, back to the rain dilemma.. The first and obvious solution is to not just go outside.. That works if you don’t have a schedule but unlucky for me I had to brave the torrential showers umbrella less! Where was my umbrella? In my friends car or course! The best place for it ..but in fairness to me I did tell them at least 5 times to give me back the damn thing! Sooo I ran down to my local pharmacy & quickly acquired a nice little popup umbrella ..success! Or was it because once I tried out my new umbrella the wind caught it & turned it inside out! So ok I did manage to fix it but only after I got back indoors, about two hours later I found myself stick in traffic for three hours! Ugh! Its amazing how much the weather can mess with your plans.. That same shower of rain managed to wash me half way down the street on the evening of my birthday.. Oh how I looked soaked head to toe in my birthday clothes (no I wasn’t naked) now I know living in Ireland we are supposed to expect rain but why is it that when I have no plans there is not a cloud in sky then once something pops up out comes the rain clouds, it could be a global conspiracy.. Anyways I’m done ranting about the rain & luckily I have no major plans tomorrow so let it rain let it rain ..let it rain

"Life is not about waiting the storm out..its about dancing in the rain"

Metallica & Slipknot Return!

Metallica "Death Magnetic"

Its rare that an album release gets me this excited! But Metallica truly are the kings of metal! Ok…so St Anger was a huge letdown and its time for people to forget about it and to move on because Metallica are back & angrier than ever!. Where to start? I got my first taste of their latest work when they played Dublin on the 20th of August last, “Cyanide” was played live to an audience of 55,000 diehard fans & upon hearing it no one was disappointed.. Including me! After listening to the whole album “cyanide” still remains my favourite! I have always been a fan of theirs & they are the first band to get me interested in metal, thankfully their newer album sounds less Mtv than St Anger & is more like their earlier work “black album” - good news for sure! The riffs & hooks & indeed the lyrics all seem to have more structure & its clear there is a lot of jamming session influences. Songs like “all nightmare long” “that was just your life” have distinct master of puppets sound going for them while others sound more like load/re-load, as much as I want to go deeper into the new album I’m going to stop here because I don’t want to spoil any of it for the true fans.. After all it really has been a long wait! What I will say is you wont be disappointed & its clear Metallica rock even harder than ever - run out & buy it on September 12th!

Slipknot "All Hope Is Gone"

I was never a hardcore slipknot fan but one or two of their songs did appeal to me so of course I wasn’t sure what to expect from their latest album, first off I have to say it made a huge impression on me! Its true they have already sold over 5 million albums so they must be doing something right. The single “psychosocial” is currently dominating the charts and the music video for the single is nothing short of brilliant. My favourite tracks off the album have to be “snuff” & “psychosocial”, “Gematria - the killing name” "Butcher's Hook" & “All Hope Is Gone” are all your standard slipknot soundtracks with lashings of thundering beats & riffs that will satisfy any true fan while the more mellow Stone Sour sounding “Snuff” & Dead Memories” will really appeal to anyone who likes good music. Overall the album seems very solidly written and mixed, slipknot have indeed achieved a heavier and more mature sound - one of the best albums of the year.

Clarins go "Jazzy"

If like me you were not around to see the 1920s then you will be over the moon when you see what Clarins are doing for their autumn winter makeup collection. Called “Jazzy colours” the new collection is all about smoky eyes, dramatic pouty lips and of course flawless skin! My personal favourite has to be the new eye shadow quartet “ So Chic” - also in the collection is a fab new loose powder that’s ever so smooth & of course a new shade of kohl pencils. The collection is a must have for the season & at an affordable price should not be missed

What I'm watching...

Ross Kemp on gangs (the 4th series)
Episode 1 - Los Angeles, California - Latin American drug dealers



The former EastEnder visits Los Angeles, which is home to over 1,000 gangs with more than 100,000 members, and where a related murder happens every other day. He joins the LAPD on patrol and meets those involved in the battles between the infamous Bloods and the Crips, as well as exploring the emergence of Latino gangs.

Prison Break (season 4)
Episode 1 - "Scylla"

Season 4 of Prison Break premiered on September 1, 2008. The fourth season will see the return of Sara Tancredi. The plot continues a month from the third season finale, where Michael drives off into the horizon to avenge the death of Sara.

Death Magnetic sold EARLY!

News just in! a few minutes ago I was told that the new Metallica album has already been sold in a France! According to unconfirmed internet sources a certain record store sold the album two weeks before its release date & naturally the fans were quick to snap up many of the copies! The store itself has not been named but its clear that they will be hit by a lawsuit very soon! As you can guess the album has also made its way online & is being downloaded by thousands of people.. Whether or not Metallica try to go after the downloader’s like they did in the Napster cases is unknown but if one thing is for sure the album will be a number one seller when it gets its official world wide release on 12th of September.

I last saw Metallica live on august 20th last & it was one of the most amazing concerts to date, it was my second time & my fingers are still crossed on them returning to tour on their new album - please come back guys!

"Death Magnetic" track listing:

01. That Was Just Your Life

02. The End Of The Line

03. Broken, Beat & Scarred

04. The Day That Never Comes

05. All Nightmare Long

06. Cyanide

07. The Unforgiven III

08. The Judas Kiss

09. Suicide & Redemption

10. My Apocalypse

Abandon hope all ye who enter here

I don’t know how you found this blog but.. welcome! as you can tell this is my blog & if you are reading it you must have a lot of free time on your hands! if you haven’t figured out already that I’m a T-girl then you haven’t read my profile "naughty naughty!", granted not many people even know what that means even doctors! the T- stands for Trans, I myself identify as a transgendered & not as the more commonly heard of "transvestite", as you can guess some of my posts will be concerning gender issues while others will just be random topics, because my interests & hobbies vary so much I might blog about pretty much anything! ..you cant say you weren’t warned now read on at your own peril.