DO NOT click on any of the links that have magically appeared in my last entry!!

ITS A HACK!!

I thought it was too supreem to be true....I had no hits from Greenland recently! ;)

Admittedly it did take me 24 hours to figure this one out!!...but I am a little slow these day!! Its my age you know!!

Lisa Woodman is lining herself up to be on the Jeremy Kyle Halloween special!!

Seriously though, will folks stop at absolutly nothing to get cheap, gutter press publicity these days? And YES I am making it worse by blogging about it too. But as my comment about said "cheap publicity" was deleted on the Suns comments page for this article, I feel I just have to speak out!
So what next in the illustrious career of mum of 4, Miss Woodman?
Big brother, Strictly, Celebrity get me out of here, Jeremy Kyle and God FORBID, Dr Who!...?????
I shudder to think!
Ok, she is most likely a very nice lady, but let us look at what she is trying to achieve here. She is an aspiring glamour model!! But at the risk of sounding bitchy she certainly does not look 28. My old school girl mates, all now in their mid 40's look much better than this, and some are even grandmothers!! She looks at least 10 years older than her stated age, so lets say for arguments sake she IS 38, at that age she IS far too old for glamour modeling, as most glamour model agencies would tell her. In my own expierence I was signed to the Fiona Martin school of modeling and charm at the age of 4, and did child model catalouge shoots in the early 70's. I freaking HATED IT!! Basically I was a tom-boy and hated the pretty frocks and fancy hairdoo's with a vengence. Things came to a head when Fiona Martin loudly announced to my astonished mother...
"Mrs Short!! your daughter will never make a model!! SHE WALKS LIKE A FARMER!!!"
So whats the point of this I hear you saying?
Well model agencies (albeit legit ones) are generally very strict on who they signe. At the end of the day they are a business and are out to make money...very sadly I feel that this lady will atract the "wrong" type of offers, like porn work. And as a responsible mother of 4, she should think very carefully about accepting such offers, but if thats what she does want well all well and good, but personally I feel her children should be her first priority.
Now lets look at this ladies photo in modelling terms:
Frankly the good Lord did not bless her with pretty looks. But this should not really matter as lots of models are not pretty. Kate Moss is very much a plain Jane as are others I should mention, but these are mostly catwalk models, who really only need to look like a walking clothes hanger to make money. Glamour modeling DOES need a pretty face, to some degree. But any lady CAN look very pretty with the right make up. I am not pretty, and look like a monster in the mornings, but for years I have been told my green eyes are my best facial feature, so with make up, I can skillfully make the most of them. Someone also cruelly announced on a Dr Who forum that I "am ugly with a face full of zits" (spots). This upset me greatly as I suffer from polcystic overies and a symptom of this is spots arround the time of my period. But again with carefull make-up this can be easily disguised. However this lady does have a very good figure! Most women would kill for a figure like hers and she has even had 4 kids! But with the over inflated boobs she just looks odd to me. Women with naturally large boobs, myself inncluded, are usually on the dumpy side...if I was her I would get them reduced slightly, maybe to a D instead of her current FF cup. I can just imagin her toppling over for being top heavy! Basically if she wants achieve her goals I would suggest a total make-over, and loose the straw like blonde hair!! Straw like blonde, over-dyed hair does not look good on any lady of whatever age...Saying all this though I do wish this lady well in her quest. But pulling cheap publicity stunts like the one in the Sun, she is just lowering herself and what she really needs is a massive dose of self respect.
And FORGODNESS SAKE!!! LOOSE THE DOMINATRIX PORN CLOTHES!!
Reserve them for the privacy of the bedroom.

Anyway this is a VERY heavily photoshopped picture of Miss Woodman in super hero mode

"Is it a bird?....is it a plane?...no its... SUPER-BOOBIE-WOMAN"

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4079489/Woman-barred-from-every-club-in-town-over-sexy-clobber.html

Proof there IS a VERY FINE LINE between looking sexy and looking like a CHEAP 50p hooker!!

Just a small request!

If you send me an email with a link in, could you please explain what is in the link and why you would want me to look at it!!
Not difficult is it??
Otherwise I will not open it if I have no idea what it is, and will simply delete it!

thanks

Its seems like a billion years since I last saw this having almost worn out my video copy!!
Over Christmas and New year I have been on a bit of a 50's-60's sci-fi horror kick and as a result I have recently enjoyed the original version "The Thing from another world" much to my pure delight!
In the orignal based on the 1930's short story "Who Goes There?" by Don A. Stuart. Scientists at an Arctic research station discover a spacecraft buried in the ice. Upon closer examination, they discover the frozen pilot. All hell breaks loose when they take him back to their station and he is accidentally thawed out with an electric blanket! (of all things! pardon the pun!) and I belive the 1951 version directed by Christian Nyby was the very first film to use a fire suit for a body on fire scene!...anyway, now that I have refreshed myself with the story I stupidy realised I could no longer watch my Capenters 1982 video as we don't have a video recorder anymore. So yesterday while shopping in town for my mums birthday present I popped into HMV and picked up the dvd for £3!!...£3 for what I consider to be a masterpiece of sci-fi horror is almost insultingly cheap I thought!!
Now let me take you back in my very own Tardis to 43 Thelwall lane, Warrington, sometime in the spring of 1985!
At the time I was living at my dads and on my way home from work one evening I picked up "The Thing" video for my local video shop called the Box Office. Like me, my dad enjoyed both sci-fi and horror (he sneaked me into see Jaws when I was only 10 years old and so scared I spent almost the entire movie hiding under my coat, for which he never forgave me!)
"I got this for tonight!" I exclaimed, brandishing the video under my dads nose.
"Lets have a look then?" he said taking it off me and studying the back of the box
"Kurt Russell is in it!" I had grinned, as I had the major hots for Kurt Russell at the time. Dad knew this and rolled his eyes and then said "this sounds like a remake of an old film" but he coulden't remember the name off-hand.
At 8pm dad and I settled down...he with his good sizing of rum and black and me with an equally good sizing of Malibu and coke. He flicked the living room light off and I slid the black cassette into the video....
Now normally my dad was a bit of a film critic and while watching any film with him he would always make critical comments about what ever we happened to be watching. I knew somthing different was going on as the film began as my dad was totally silent...and remianed silent throughout the film! Several times I looked over at him expecting to see him asleep but no...his eyes were fixed on our TV!!
AND with very good reason!!
Very soon I began to realise the film we were watching was a compleatly NEW dimention in terror!! This WAS a MASTERPIECE!!! and in my view even made the awesome "Alien" look like an episode of Play School!! Several times I stupidly realised I was sat open mouthed, un-blinking, with my fingernails digging into the fabric of my chair...when it ended I was actually shaking as I greatfully turned on the living room light.
"Well? did you enjoy that?" I asked
"Uhuh-uh" ....was all my dad could manage untill he had drained his bottle of Lambs Navy!
Lets just say that night I dident sleep too good and became convinced the scarey spider head monster was lurking under my bed, like I was some 5 year old kid when infact I was 18 at the time!!!!
I can honestly say: to date, John Carpenters "The Thing!" is the ONLY horror film to ever give me nightmares.
Several years later I was not surprized to learn that Rob Bottin, just aged 22 when he did the amazing special effects for the Thing had actually worked so hard on the film he suffered severe exhaustion, so bad that "creature creator extraordinaire" Stan Winston had to be drafted in to cover for him. To this day the genius that was Stan Winston was never credited for his work on the Thing. Very sadly he died in 2008 at the age of 62. I am hoping to see a credit for his fine work on my new dvd, tonight.
Tardis zings forward to January 2012....
Last year a new version of the Thing was made and I have not seen this yet...infact I am almost afraid too, incase it has been ruined as sometimes remakes can be, and as most of the shape-shifting monsters in the 1982 version were actual puppets, I find it hard to invision how modern day CGI will replace that kind of mastery...untill then, all I will say is that the latest retelling of this fascinating story has a HELL of a lot to live up to!!

happy nightmares and love Vix x

Some of you may remember Derek and I went to see War of the Worlds ALIVE in Birmingham a while back and I was able to take many photos and video (subsequently posted to youtube) of the awesome Fighting Machine!
Covent Gaden is a very different kettle of fish!!
Absolutly NO photos or video is allowed so I wont be able to post any of this magnificent peformance anywhere, unfortunatly! I will be taking my Blackberry but it will be firmly switched off. So big appologies if anyone was looking forward to seeing any pics or vids of the said event.
I have never been to Covent Garden before so I have been reading up on it rather a lot of late and from this I have gleened that my black and white ballgown is out as it would be too impracticle with all the stairs we are going to negociate. And besides there is no formal dress code anyway which raised my eyebrows a little. So after much mooching about in my wardrobes I have come up with my Miss Sixty purple satin dress trousers with my best "Dark Angel" corset top and a black velvet waistcoat with my Masonic watch fob and chain. Smart, slightly Bohiemian but very me I think!! Oh and not forgetting my bag and opera glasses and the all important page of nicorette to stave off the ciggie cravings. There is only one interval in nearly 4 hours so I will need them!!! hehehe
Anyway must crack on with chores and much study....see you soon! :)

and the same day on the cliffs!



and on a visit to a Tudor manor the same day!



and this is me age 25 taken at mums about the same time I first me Derek in October 1993!

and an absolutly stunning modern artists impressions of Catherine in her mid 20's

Confronted by outstanding merit, there is no way of saving one's ego except by love. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

is having much fun on twitter!! :)

See you sooon!!!!! x

Firstly please let me say dont click on the link if your upset easily...

It also shows an incredibly brave, hereoic bus driver trying desperatly to save his double decker bus from a landslide...He dident make it, but fortuenally he off loaded his 50 passengers, in effect saving their lives, before attempting the move. May God bless this poor man! its just such a shame his insane bravery cost him the biggest price of all...I felt my heart break when I saw this yesterday, and it even brought me to tears as I began to have vivid flashbacks of our incredibly lucky (perhaps lucky is the wrong word!) bus crash on the Chinese/Tibetian highway in the Autumn of 1995

***In respect for the dead driver, I have decided to remove this horrific clip***

This is the notorious Camina De la Murerte, literally translated as the "Death road!" even the locals pray and make offerings to their gods for their safety before travelling on here. And the one thing I have learnt fom my years on the road and thats if the locals are praying for safe passage then you KNOW your in trouble...Uptoo 200 people die annually on this highway to hell and thank goodness I haven't been there!! Which is just as well because Dereks taste for adventure travel can be just as insane as the bus drivers we encountered on our Asia oddesy. I can well remember watching the Bolivian Top-Gear special with him and he kept saying how exciting it looks! "We must go somtime!" he grinned at me *not bloody likely* I thought...Thankfully the nearest we got was our tour of Costa Rica some years ago, and even that included some very hairraising rides though the jungle.
But oddly enough there is a thriving tourist buisness that centers around this road!! Mountain bikers looking for the ultimate challenge (Derek loves mountain biking) Backpackers just taking the bus for the hell of it and then tell their friends "we travelled on the death road!" There is a huge ammount of travel snobbery between backpackers...So I am really happy to say this is one area of the world that wont be seeing my ever widening backside, anytime soon!!
All the same last night I could not sleep as the memories came flooding back.
And I pray God bless the soul of this brave driver who saved 50 lives! he was a true hero!

Some funny piccies I have found on the net, for a bit of a giggle untill our Champagne starts flowing!!

It has come to my notice in my junk email that rather a lot of would be comments are being posted.

Please refrain from commenting on this blog. Its a waste of my time and yours!

I DO NOT ALLOW direct commenting!

However, you may email me at:

vixtravels2@hotmail.com

and if I deam your comment suitable and relevent, I may publish it here in the form of a digest.

In the meantime......................

but not sure why.....

Maybe its taking my mind off the torture tha awaits me at the denist this morning!!

Still....this make me giggle!

Yesteday evening I was setting my candles and trimming wicks when Derek came hurring down stairs grinning like a Cheshire Cat!!

"Ive just been looking at tickets for Das Rhiengold at the Royal Opera house and there are just eight left but its going to cost well over £1,000!! So I have been looking at Don Giovanni for spring! Do you fancy it??"

Fancy it!!! I nearly lept on him in pure joy!!
Although Derek and I have been to many Opera's we have never been to Covent Garden, and have never seen Mozart's epic Don Giovanni, so I was extatic!!!...and the next thing I knew he had booked our prime balcony seats! Overjoyed I hurried to my walk in wardobe and pulled out my best ball gown, and held it up to myself in the mirror, while pulling my hair up to see the effect. The only thing is my gown is a size 14 and with my "doctors orders" restrictive diet I have lost a considerable amount of weight.

"Mum may have to take this in!" I called from the bedroom, as Derek printed off the booking form. "And your going to have to wear a proper collor and black bow tie!" Momentarily he looked glum. Derek is not one for formal wear. My gown however is formal wear so I will have to wear a proper foundation corset and stockings! But oh JOY!!!!! we now have somthing to look forward to in the new year besides our Gypsy caravan holiday!!!

Anyway here is a taster of the awesome Don Giovanni!!! Enjoy!!

Basically, exactly what it says on the tin!!

TESCO WINE RIP OFF!!!

Derek orders us a weekly case of a carefully selected fine wine, but recently when he has gone to order a wine at a special offer price (written in red on the website) The system *appaently* crashes, and when he goes back to the wine page the price for the wine we have chosen has magically one up by a couple of quid!!!
Last night he emailed Tesco to ask why was this so and got no answer. No surprizes there!!!

http://www.tesco.com/wine/

This is a BLATENT RIP OFF!!!
They even have the cheeck to say on their website "an extra 25% off Christmas wines and Champagnes"... Yeah!! it may say that but the minuite you go to order on the website the PRICE SUDDENLY JUMPS UP!!
Fortunatly I have already ordered my usuall case of rose Champagne and I am happy to say it was not from tesco!!

So wine lovers BEWARE!!!

Narcissus in Greek mythology was a hunter who was renowned for his beauty. He was exceptionally proud and cruelly disdained those who loved him. The Goddess Nemesis saw this and attracted Narcissus to a pool where he saw his own reflection in the waters and fell in love with it, not realizing it was his own. Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus died. He turned into a flower, which blooms by the side of streams and ponds, but faces downward at the water’s surface!!



Narcissism exists on a continuum from healthy to pathological. Healthy narcissism has to do with a realistic self-respect and self-interest, which does not deny the value of others. Healthy narcissism is associated with good psychological health. Narcissism becomes destructive where a person’s evaluation of self is over-inflated and out of touch with reality, and where other people’s needs, feelings and values are disregarded........
A narcissist has an unrealistic sense of self-importance, a lack of empathy, and a conviction of being special and entitled. They see other people as objects to be used to enhance themselves, and believe feel it’s only natural that others will admire them and want to serve them.
Narcistic traits are:

* An obvious self-focus in conversation
* Problems in sustaining satisfying relationships
* A lack of psychological awareness
* Difficulty with empathy
* Problems distinguishing the self from others
* Hypersensitivity to criticism or perceived criticism
* Vulnerability to shame rather than guilt
* Haughty body language
* Flattery of people who admire and affirm them
* Hating those who do not admire them
* Using other people without considering the cost of doing so
* Pretending to be more important than they really are
* Bragging (subtly but persistently) and exaggerating their achievements
* Claiming to be an “expert” at many things
* Inability to view the world from the perspective of other people
* Denial of remorse and gratitude

Narcissistic people depend on admiration, applause and attention for their sense of wellbeing. This “narcissistic supply” is like a drug for them; if it is lacking, the narcissist will be depressed, his/her sleep patterns will be disrupted, s/he will either eat too much or avoid food altogether. To protect themselves from this, narcissists have several potential sources of supply, so that if one source fails to deliver, there is always a backup plan. Narcissistic people may not be aware that their lives are geared to securing narcissistic supply. They may know they like to be desired, admired, adored and respected but it is unlikely that they have any deep understanding of why they do what they do. They have no need to understand, as long as the sources of supply are plenty.
I suppose we are all guilty of some form of narcissism or another (I know I can be occasionally) but it is recognising this state in ones self that can help to deal with our own narcisstic traits that will appear like ugly stains on our character.
In Masonry we are taught how to mould and build ourselves into better people and I firmly believe part of this process is recognising the less than savory points in our characters, and to turn them into a "something for good!"....We should all indeed take lessons from Narcissus!!
"Keeping it real" really does free us fom the shackles of excessive ego!

Being a life long fan of horror, ever since I watched Theater of Blood with my dad when I was 8 years old, I thought I had seen most things, ideas, stories, retellings etc, and although I am not a fan of the slasher genre, I DO turn into a heap of gurly fan gurrl goo at a wonderfully original ghost story. I am very happy to say my faith in modern horror has been restored by "INDIDIOUS". Hand on heart (which is still beating wildly after watching this) I can honestly say this is one of the finest spookfest films I have seen in years!

Chad Brinkmen review over at IMDB perfectly summs up just about all my thoughts on this AWESOME FILM!!!!
So here is his review in full:

I went into this movie confident that it would be a cheesy, campy romp with the same "tried and true tricks of the trade," like when the hero is investigating the creepy music coming from the basement and a cat jumps into frame, but I quickly discovered that this would not be case with Insidious. After watching the move and obsessing on it for about 12 hours now, I can honestly say it's one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. In fact, there were several points during the film where I screamed like a 13-year old girl at a Justin Beiber concert. Keep in mind I was consciously trying my hardest to keep my composure, mainly because I was sitting beside my new girlfriend of 2 months. She, incidentally, didn't make a peep; thankfully, I later found out she had her eyes closed the whole time.

I was also expecting to see some blood and guts, especially coming from the guys who made Saw, but there wasn't a drop. Instead, they used just about everything else in their arsenal to scare the bejesus out of me and everyone else in the theater (my girlfriend included). From literally the opening credits, they created an intense, haunting tension that didn't leave my body till several whiskeys and half a Xanax later. And the movie constantly feeds that tension, making even the characters' mundane family life somehow seem utterly terrifying. I was actually exhausted leaving the theater from all of the uncomfortable squirming I was unable to control. I'd say it's the most calories I've ever burned while watching a movie (well, at least a PG-13 movie).

Overall, the movie was great. It was crazy scary, thoroughly entertaining, and even surprisingly funny at times. Having said that, it will be quite some time before I watch another horror movie; I have no desire to be turned into a frazzled bundle of nerves again anytime soon. So, if you plan on seeing this movie, please consider this a cautionary reminder: it's probably best to go with someone who's already witnessed you have a complete physical and mental breakdown, so as to avoid an embarrassing drive home. And maybe bring a Xanax as well.

and here's a trailer tease too!!



....watch this if you dare!!...you have been warned, from a hardened horror nut!!!

This film is SERIOUS "I shat myself!" stuff!!! :) x

*spills wine in fits of giggles*