<3 lyrics

Music is one of my greatest loves and of course I love the melodies, the bass, the harmonies...but something I really love is when all of these elements are combined with amazing lyrics. I'm a sucker for words! I love to read, I love to write, I love poetry, I love to talk and I am just generally in love with language. With the song 'Love Rain' by Jill Scott featuring Mos Def I feel my passion for music and language are combined to form an undeniable alchemy. The melody is oh so simple and it's the words that are the real star, however had this been just a poem rather than musical poetry or poetic music I don't think it would have the same effect. I love the imagery this song creates in my mind, the dynamics and emotions of the relationship depicted in the song are perfectly portrayed. This is definitely one of my favourite songs of all time! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do it makes 'my heart beat in a now now time signature'(just listen to the lyrics lol...)

Thoughts for Today *2*

What thoughts have dominated my mind today?...

Glasses - I had to take a trip to the opticians today as I needed some new glasses, I only have to wear them when partaking in certain activities but I was still really excited cause I haven't had a new pair in ages. There were sooooo many frames to pick from and they do a 2 for 1 deal so I had to choose 2. Honestly I was in that shop for ages trying to pick the perfect balance between 'sexy secretary' and 'nerdy' chic'. You wouldn't have thought it would have taken so long I mean it's only a pair of glasses which I won't even be wearing all the time. However I actually considered it to be quite an important decision as people tend to gauge your personality somewhat from first impressions and speaking to people they've told me that they tend to perceive a woman differently when she wears glasses so I wanted to make sure I got some that complimented my personality perfectly! Eventually I decided on one really funky 'kitsch' pair and a more conventional one (for work and so forth) I pick them up next week so I'll post pics :)

Make Up - The majority of girls I know wear some make up at least some the time (myself included). The primary reason for make up is to enhance your natural beauty and just add that little but extra but for me rule no. 1 is that make up should ALWAYS without a shadow of a doubt make you look better NEVER worse or what is the point of wearing it. The reason this was on my mind today as whilst shopping on Oxford Street I saw a girl with the most ridiculous make up on. I can't imagine what she was thinking when she applied it thought that it was appropriate and then left the house. Now even when I'm not a fan of a certain look I can usually see where the person is coming from and appreciate it's appeal. With this girl however there was no appreciation or understanding from me! She looked like she was going to a Halloween party...masses of blue of eyeshadow, big false spider leg look-a-like lashes and a ton of black eyeliner is not the best look for a spring day. Maybe she wanted to recreate an editorial look she'd seen in a magazine...but there's a time and a place for everything and the Primark customer services queue is definitely not the place! She just reminded me to be even more aware about the make I choose and not to wear too much of it because applied in the wrong way it really can make you look terrible.

Lynwood Rose - I'm really excited as when the 3 great talents that are Raphael Saadiq, Q-Tip and D'Aneglo join forces they call themselves 'Lynwood Rose'. I've heard that they are set to release an album soon and I can't wait! I've been listening to some of their tracks just to get me in the mood :) You can listen to some on the Linwood Rose playlist at the side.

The Fun of the Fair!

I went to the Funfair yesterday and it was so fun! I haven't been for ages because as you get older it's not exactly top of your agenda and since I don't have any kids yet it doesn't really cross my mind. I saw the Funfair had come to town on my way to work this week so I thought the weather's going to be nice so why not? I had such a good time it just brought back those great childhood memories. Going on so many rides that your stomach flips and you nearly want to throw up, bumping people on the bumper cars, eating ice-cream and candy floss, winning prizes...I truly embraced my inner child yesterday and I'm glad. Life gets so serious sometimes so it's refreshing to have some good childish fun :p

Thoughts for Today

I thought I'd start blogging my most prominent daily thoughts...and then perhaps I'll Psychoanalyse myself (I am a Psychology graduate after all) or even better other people can have a go at analysing me too :)

So what did I think about today?? There we two main topics I ruminated on...

Travelling - I actually think about travelling every single day now. For some reason it has now become top on my list of things I want to do and of the utmost importance. I think it's a good thing that I want to experience as much of the world as possible but I also think it's bringing out some not so great qualities in me...for one wanting something so badly can only leave you feeling disappointed when you don't get it or things don't go to plan. Obviously due to time and money constraints I have to plan my travel in a considered manner when really I'd rather just back up tonight and be off travelling the world tomorrow. Sometimes the frustration of not being able to do something I really want or having to wait for it leaves me feeling really down. The second bad quality it brings out in me is envy (*the 6th deadly sin*) I'm not even usually a envious person but when I hear stories of some of the places people I know have been to I cannot help but feel a teeny bit envious. This is a typical envy evoking scenario.

Travelling (and just ever so slightly bragging) friend: "I had such a great time traveling in India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco...(2 mins later), Dubai, Sudan, Peru...you should really try and do more travelling yourself"

Me (through gritted teeth, a fake smile and deadly envious thoughts): "Wow sounds like you had a really great time I'm so happy for you. I am going to travel I just need to sort out a few things first" (sigh)

Bras - This sounds like a strange one, but at times I find bras super annoying and I don't always like wearing them. I mean they serve an important function and I really do think

they look nice (I love picking out pretty or sexy bras) but I just find them quite restrictive! Obviously I wear a bra and usually it's not too bad cause I wear it just whilst I'm out then I'll take it off when I come in, however I do relish occasions when I don't have to wear a bra which is why I choose certain tops and dresses to wear when I go out so I can go bra-less. The reason bras were on my mind today however is due to the fact that I was at work. The working day is quite a long one considering I leave my house just after 8.30am and don't get home until around 7.00pm...so basically this means over 10 hours of wearing a bra!! Trust me for someone whose not a fan of bras this is a lonnnnnggggg time! I don't think about bras every time I'm at work because I usually choose a comfy one but today I didn't and once discomfort set in I was reduced to thoughts of the bra burning feminists of the 60s...good times I'd say :)

Cassie's Naked Ambition

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Reminiscent Rhythms

My second Reminiscent Rhythm comes from one of my favourite albums of all time... a classic in my mind 'Where I wanna Be' by Donell Jones. I've always been a huge fan of Donell Jones and for me he is extremely underrated just listen to this album and you'll see why. There are so many great tracks on this album but I've picked the title track 'Where I Wanna Be' this time. There will definitely be more Donell Jones tracks featuring in my 'Reminiscent Rhythms' enjoy :)

Media Madness

I've never understood why the media especially sources people perceive to be credible (i.e. the news) or bodies that have great influence (i.e. the government) tend to hype situations to a level that I think is unnecessary. It's like they take pleasure in whipping people into a frenzy.

Every time there's a big story or topic of concern all sense of reason goes out the window and the media set about publishing and broadcasting in such a way that the only obvious outcome is panic. First it was Mad Cow Disease, then it was Bird Flu, then it was SARS and now of course it's the infamous Swine flu. Now I know myself that I've never been affected by the any of the diseases the media previously hyped and neither has anyone I know so I doubt I'll be greatly affected by Swine Flu...even if I was it's still just a flu I'd just take the medicine and move on. Considering no-one has died from it in the UK yet I don't why the media hype is so great...it's got people wearing face masks and all sorts!!

Now we move on to the government, obviously they have a duty to protect the people and regardless of how dangerous Swine Flu is they want to stop in from spreading. I believe they are on the right track by quarantining people that have contracted the flu and providing information leaflets to people with the actual facts (cause believe me if you just watched the news and read the papers you'd get the impression we were all in grave danger of dying from it). However I have to say I find the government's 'CATCH IT, BIN IT, KILL IT' campaign a bit dubious. Do they think people are stupid?! How can you tell people to use a tissue (or cover their mouths) when they sneeze, chuck the tissue in the bin and then wash our hands?! What do they think we have been doing our whole lives?!!

I just find it beyond reason that people have been dealing with the common cold and flu basically their whole lives and as soon as a new strain arrives the government thinks it's necessary to teach people how to use a tissue!! They would be better off telling people not to worry because if they do catch the flu there is an anti- viral available...because at the moment the hype is just too crazy! I've got my friend's telling me 96,000 people could die in London...hmmm until 1 dies I don't think I'll worry! And apparently face mask sales have increased so rapidly the companies that make them have had to increase their production.

This just re-iterates what a powerful machine the media is but in this case instead of using their power to benefit people they've got them all concerned, giving the suspicious eye every time someone sneezes on the train. I can't take the media seriously anymore it's just a circus.