My week in England

Skip this first part if you only want to read about Guilfest!

Well, the first thing I remember is that we went to Stonehenge, and the funny thing is that it was raining when we were on our way, but it stopped right when we got out of the car. Too bad we weren't allowed to get really close to the 'stones', but I still made some nice pictures.

I think we went to Salisbury after that. It's a nice town with a really big cathedral. We did some shopping.. just a relaxed day.

The next day we went to Portsmouth, a lovely seaport. From the huge spinnaker tower (170 metres high) we had a great view over the harbour. There was a glass floor, which was really weird; like walking on air!

That day in Portsmouth, when we were shopping, we got in a HMV store and there we saw an ad that said "Dodgy will be giving an acoustic performance and signing at 5.30 today". We really wanted to attend that so we stayed in Portsmouth a little longer than planned and it was totally worth it!

The acoustic performance was really short - only like 4 songs - but they sounded great. (Here's a video that my brother made on his phone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lwOtZxuP1o)

After the performance, I got a poster that the band signed for me. I also talked to them for a while, they were really nice! I told them I was from the Netherlands and they asked where in the NL, so I said Eindhoven. I didn't think they knew the place, but they said "Oh yeah, we've been there!"

I got a picture of me with the singer, Nigel. They asked if we were coming to see their second performance that night, but I said we couldn't, ("Why not? Boyfriend trouble?" haha) -we had to travel, because we were going to a festival the next day. "Which festival?" they asked. "Guilfest.."

"No way! We're performing there tomorrow!" they said. I was pleasantly surprised. "I'll come see you tomorrow then!"

Pictures from England (including Stonehenge and Dodgy performance/signing):
http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d168/g_l_k/England%202008/?start=all
Pictures from Guilfest:
http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d168/g_l_k/Guilfest%202008/

note: this list is never 100% complete, because I've read too many books to remember and am still reading. Also, now and then I will add my own short summaries or opinion of books on this list, but I don't have time to do it right away. In other words: come back to this page now and then, you might find something new!

Good books I’ve read:

The Harry Potter series +++++
(this doesn't need an introduction. if you are one of those very few people who hasn't read them, I suggest you start now)

Dan Brown: The Da Vinci Code ++++
(very convincingly told, full of suspence, but also beautiful descriptions of places and art..)

Dan Brown – Angels & Demons +++

Dan Brown – Digital Fortress +++

Stephenie Meyer – Twilight  ++++
(if you like romance, the idea of a perfect boyfriend, and don't mind a little supernatural)

Stephenie Meyer – New moon (sequel to Twilight) ++++

Stephenie Meyer – Eclipse (third book of the Twilight series) +++

Cecelia Ahern – Where rainbows end (aka Rosie Dunne) ++
(this book was written in a very modern way: the pages are all e-mails and notes that the main characters write to each other. it's a really funny, romantic book)

Cecelia Ahern – If you could see me now ++
(books by Cecelia Ahern are all very uplifting, sure to make you smile and not hard)

Cecelia Ahern – PS I love you ++

Martha O’connor: The Bitch Goddess Notebook (aka The Bitch Posse) +
(hard to get into because of the bad language and things like drugs, but eventually you won't be able to put it down, because you want to know the secret of these girls)

James Patterson – Sam’s letters to Jennifer +
(a romantic tearjerker. easy to read.)

Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime +
(I had to read this for school, and only afterwards realized that it was a really good book. It's written from the perspective of a 15 year old boy who has Asperger's Syndrome)

Khaled Hosseini – The Kite Runner ++
(about a childhood in Afghanistan, sometimes very sad, sometimes funny, very realistic, not an easy read)
Zoe Heller - Notes on a scandal (about a female teacher who gets into a relationship with a boy in her class, written from the perspective of an other teacher. It's quite easy to read but it gets a little dull after a while so I wouldn't recommend it to people who want action in a book)
Tim Ray - Starbrow; a spiritual adventure (I read the dutch translation of this a few years ago and thought it was amazing. It's a fantasy book for people who are not into fantasy. Not an easy book!)
Stephen King - The Dead Zone (thriller about a man who wakes up from a coma and realizes that he can predict the future)
Stephen King - The girl who loved Tom Gordon (this is an easier book from Stephen King, about a 9-year-old girl who gets lost in the woods)
Koji Suzuki - Ring (Japanese author, if you were wondering about the name. The film "The Ring" was based on this book, but actually it's quite different from the film. A journalist - in the book a man, in the film a woman - tries to find out how his cousin died and discovers a video tape that "kills" people if they watch it)
Paulo Coelho - Like the flowing river (it's not fiction, it's mostly memories and thoughts of the author, and wise lessons he's learned through experiences. It's beautifully written, at times dead serious and at other times really funny, it really makes you think about life and all.)

Books I want to read:

Alex Garland - The Beach (remember the film with Leonardo DiCaprio?)
Anette Curtis Klause – Blood & chocolate
Chuck Palahniuk - Diary
Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club (there's a film based on this one, with Brad Pitt)

Dave Eggers – a heartbreaking work of staggering genius (autobiographic)

Elizabeth Wurtzel – Prozac nation

Harper Lee – to kill a mockingbird
Janet Finch - White oleander (I loved this film)

Jenny Downham - Before I die 
(a young girl finds out that she is going to die soon. 
how is she going to spend the last weeks of her life?)
J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye (it's quite famous)
Joe Wells: Touch and go Joe (Dutch translation: Een dictator in mijn kop)
(written by a 12 year old boy who suffered from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), about how he dealt with it)
John Boyne - The boy in the striped pyjamas

Julie Anne Peters – Define “normal”

Laurie Halse Anderson – Speak

Marya Hornbacher – Wasted

Miranda July - No one belongs here more than you
(She wrote the film "Me and you and everyone we know", which I loved)

Neil Gaiman – Anansi boys

Neil Gaiman – Neverwhere

Neil Gaiman – Stardust (I really liked this film, it was very funny. it's a fantasy story)

Nicholas Sparks – The notebook

Nick Hornby – About a boy
(you probably know the film featuring Hugh Grant. I expect this to be an easy read)

Nick Hornby – High fidelity

Philippa Gregory – The other Boleyn girl (there's a film about it in theatres right now)

Philip Pullman - The Golden Compass (first book from the "His Dark Materials" series, now a major film)
Ray Bradbury – A sound of thunder

Ray Bradbury – Fahrenheit 451

Richard Adams – Watership down (I saw the film many years ago, but I've always remembered it because it was so heart-breaking. I hope the same goes for the book)

Sarah Dessen – This lullaby

Scott Westerfeld – Uglies   /   Pretties    / Specials   (trilogy)
(futuristic thrillers. people who liked "Twilight" have recommended this trilogy)

Sonya Sones – What my mother doesn’t know

Stephen Chbosky – the perks of being a wallflower

Todd Strasser – Give a boy a gun (about a high school shooting)

  
- If you want to know more about any of these titles, go to amazon.com and type in the title or the author. This site has almost every book in the world!

Some books I own (which you may borrow if you'd like):
James Patterson – Sam’s letters to Jennifer
Nick Hornby - About a boy
Suneeta Peres Da Costa - Homework (about a young girl with a strange family)
John Boyle - Galloway Street (autobiographic about a childhood in Scotland)
Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple - Pay The Piper: A rock 'n' roll fairy tale
Alex Garland - The Coma (from the author of The Beach)
Anita Shreve - Eden Close
Cecelia Ahern - A place called here
Janet Finch - White Oleander
Cecelia Ahern - PS I love you (recommended!)
Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook
Karen Joy Fowler - The Jane Austen Book Club
Stephenie Meyer - The host
All the books from the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series.

Title:	We ♥ Engrish
Topics:	china, english, humor, lol
Date:	2008-03-01 @ 16:18
Security:	public
Music:	Pride & Prejudice soundtrack
Mood:	giggly

I honestly have tears in my eyes from laughing while looking at these pictures.
This is how good Chinese people are in English:
 Dangerous only to Chinese children, others are fine.
 Enjoy the fall.

Last night's performance went great! I got many positive reactions,
of which the coolest/funniest one was "you gave me goosebumps"!
I enjoyed all the other performances as well,
and I even made some new friends during the long wait between soundcheck and performances.
Hopefully the pictures will be online soon.
I wanted to dye my hair back to my natural colour but it turned out much darker (almost black).. 
but I don't mind at all because I really like it this way.
I didn't get much sleep last night and I'm still tired...
Tonight I'm going to watch the rest of the school performances (it's always two days),
tomorrow my Mum and I are going to some play called "the wedding"
and Sunday I'm going to the birthday party of a friend.
So.. busy weekend.
I've been feeling creative lately. I've written some starts for books, made a bunch of icons and collected lots of articles/ads to make a collage. I just wish I had more time for things like that.

List of books I want to read:
- Atonement, by Ian McEwan. I'd love to see the film, but I prefer reading the book first.
- Brokeback Mountain, by Annie Proulx. I've seen the film and loved it, so I hope the book will be just as good.
- Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Well.. it's a classic.
- The notebook, by Nicholas Sparks. Many people have said that the film was amazing, so again, I want to read the book first and then watch the film.
- The other Boleyn girl, by Philippa Gregory. Same story: the film is now in theatres.
- Watership down, by Richard Adams. I saw the film many years ago and was very impressed, I only recently found out it was based on a book.
- Stardust, Neil Gaiman. Guess what.. I saw the film xD
- The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. Haven't seen the film yet.
- No one belongs here more than you, by Miranda July. Okay this is a different story. Miranda July wrote the film "Me and you and everyone we know", and I loved that film. Now she's written a book, so I want to read it.


Go to http://lifeisawar.livejournal.com/ for my icons!

Something has changed. I have stopped caring about wearing clothes that fit into a certain 'category'  like gothic or emo. I have stopped seeing mistakes from the past as faults, because it is no use, they have taught me never to do things like that again. I have stopped despising people for not being like I want them to be, if they want to throw their lives away, it's their decision. I have also stopped holding grudges against people who have disappointed me. It costs to much energy. Life is much nicer if you look at the good things, also in people, so I'll just try to be nice to everybody from now on and if it doesn't work.. well at least i've tried. 
People have said that I should get more self-confidence. Its true. I will try not to become mad at people when they say it again. It's not their fault I'm oversensitive.
So I will try to pay less attention to my fear (of the future) and just try things out and see what happens.
I don't know how long I will be able to keep this positive perspective, but I am really thankful that I have it now, wherever it came from. Life is so much more bearable when you see good things even through the bad things. I am not trying to convince anybody but myself. 

1) Films I love:

-         Brokeback mountain  (Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger)

-         The Sixth Sense (Bruce Willis & Hayley Joel Osment = amazing)

-         Artificial Intelligence (again Hayley Joel Osment, Jude Law)

-         The day after tomorrow (Jake Gyllenhaal)

-         The Island (Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson)

-         The Butterfly Effect (Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart)

-         The Gladiator (Russel Crowe)

-         A beautiful mind (Russel Crowe)

-         Titanic (Leonardo Dicaprio, Kate Winslet)

-         What's eating Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp, Leonardo Dicaprio)

-         Lost in translation (Bill Murray)

-         Cast away (Tom Hanks)

-         Me and you and everyone we know

-         Rat race   (Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, John Cleese)

-         Groundhog day (Bill Murray)

 2) Films in theatres right now or soon, that I want to see:

-         Atonement (Keira Knightley, James McAvoy)

-         Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of Fleet Street   (Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman)

-         The Kite Runner (I read the book, it was good)

-         The Other Boleyn Girl

-         I'm not there

-         Cloverfield

-         PS I love you  (read the book)

Which film do you recommend?