"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself."

Howdy (I'm running with this greeting now on).


Little explanation for the quote in the title. It's a quote from Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors. The reason why I wanted to use this quote is because these past couple of days have been spent with some awesome friends, which I will go into later in the blog. The quote is pretty straightforward and it really doesn't need that much of an explantation. Basically the quote is talking about how the only way you can really be friends with someone is if you can truly be yourself around them and not have to put on a mask. This relates back to a quote I used in a previous blog about creating a personality. If you want to know if your friends are truly your friends then you don't have to put on a mask, you only have to be yourself.


So how has my week been? It has actually been a pretty awesome week. Tuesday saw me meeting up with some friends in town. Had a really great time. AND I got myself a Mighty Boosh Zippo Lighter, which I freaking love! Wednesday saw the first official band practice of The Dropouts (we're running with that name for now). We started off covering some songs such as:

• Maggie's Farm by Rage Against The Machine
• Smells Like Teen Spirit and Polly by Nirvana
• She Hates Me by Puddle of Mudd
• Icky Thump by The White Stripes
• Anarchy in the UK by The Sex Pistols
• Feeling Good by Muse
• Beat on the Brat by The Ramones

Once we did these covers and had all become comfortable of what everyone could do, the other guys started the process of writing a song. We have the tune ready all we need is some lyrics which will eventually find their shape. Or it could just be instrumental song. Who knows. One Thursday I spent some time with a friend, who I've only known for a short while and have grown to become a really great friend. Had a really a good day with them. Friday was another good day. Went to town to meet up with a friend and see Predators. I thought it was actually an alright movie. Not something I'd watch a lot. But it was still good. So all in all I think it has been a pretty good week for me. Makes a change.

Now for my recommendations for this week. The film this week is Che - Parts 1 & 2. And the music this week is Beautiful by the Finnish band HIM.

The film that I'm going to recommend is Che. The film looks at the historical and iconic figure that was Ernesto "Che" Guevara. You may not know who Che is, although you may recognise the famous photograph of him, so I'll give a quick little description of who he was. Che was a key figure in the Cuban Revolution during 1953-9. Once the Revolution was successful he began aiding revolutions all across the world. This, however, soon led to his death in Bolivia in 1967. Che Part 1 follows Che at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution right up to it's end. Che Part 2 follows Che during his time in Bolivia right up to his death. The films are brilliant. For they portray Che perfectly. The films show you what made this man an icon. What made him who he became. I really do truly recommend you see these films because they are two films that I would gladly watch anytime.

The song that I want to recommend this week is Beautiful by the Finnish band HIM. I started listening to HIM a long time ago and I instantly fell in love with them as a band. I've only just recently started listening to them again and I don't know how I ever stopped listening. Out of all their songs Beautiful is the one that I stuck with the most. The song is great, the lyrics are great and it all comes towards a great guitar solo. Great song. Great band. Give them both a listen.

Well that's the blog for this week. Next one, as ever, is on Tuesday. So to finish I'll leave you with two videos. The trailer for Che - Parts 1 & 2. And Beautiful by HIM. Enjoy.

Che:

Beautiful:

So till next Tuesday. I hope you have a great weekend. Stay Safe. And I'll see you next time around.

This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.

Much love

x

"You'll never find rainbows if you're looking down."

Howdy. (That's my new welcome.....for this week at least.) Gonna be quite a short blog today as I haven't actually got much to write about.


Little explanation for the quote in the title. I was looking back at the previous blog and thought that it looked a bit anti-love and quite negative. So this time around I thought I'd use a nice quote in the title. So I went with this beauty by Charlie Chaplin, the comedy legend of the early 20th Century and another member of my growing list of heroes. The quote itself pretty self-explanatory. If you're feeling down and all you want is to be happy again (in the quotes case if you want to look for a rainbow) then being down's not going to help. In all I think the quote is trying to say that if you want to get over whatever is getting you down then just stay positive (don't keep looking down).


So how has my weekend been? Quite boring. Saturday consisted of me cleaning up around the house in preparation for a BBQ the next day and then discovering and instantly falling in love with the genius that is Black Books. Seriously good comedy, check it out. Then Sunday was said BBQ. It was actually quite fun. Highlight of the BBQ was starting fires, putting stuff in the fires (including Lego, paper plates, plastic knives/spoons/ forks, etc.), lighting sparklers and then making some great photos with the sparklers (thanks to the camera wizard that is my cousin). Then Monday was spent cleaning the remains of the fire from the previous night and plenty of sitting around. Not much going on this week, except for Wednesday. Wednesday sees the first meeting of the still-unnamed band. It is very exciting. See what everyone's like. Then hopefully try out some songs together for the very first time! I'm really looking forward to it. It's gonna be awesome.


Well that is it for now. Next blog is on Saturday, as you should know. So for now I'll leave you with two music videos. The first video I love because it has a fight in it......involving clowns. The video is of course, Fluorescent Adolescent by the Arctic Monkeys. The second video is a song that I love and can very much relate to. It might also be practiced by the band which should be very good. The song is She Hates Me by Puddle of Mudd. Enjoy.


Fluorescent Adolescent:



She Hates Me:



So till Saturday. Have a great week. Stay Safe. And I'll see you next time around.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much Love
x
P.S. Watch Hand Banana by Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's fucking hilarious.

"The story of life is quicker than the blink of an eye. The story of love is hello, goodbye."

Well I am back (and I really need to think of a better introduction). Been quite an uneventful week really. Apart from Tuesday which I shall go into later on. But other than Tuesday, I have been very very bored. There are only so many DVD box sets and games that I can get through.


First an explanation for the quote in the title. For once it is not a quote from Kurt Cobain. This time around it's a quote by the great guitarist, Jimi Hendrix. To me this sums up both how quickly life can pass us by and also how I've come to feel about "love" these past few weeks. The quote itself is fairly straightforward. The first half basically means that life can pass by us quickly or as Hendrix put it: "quicker than the blink of an eye". This might therefore give us the incentive to do more with our lives before they have passed us by as quickly as Hendrix suggests. The second half of the quote is, again, quite straightforward. I think that Hendrix is trying to say that love is very similar to life, in the sense that life happens quickly and that all affairs of love are also quick. I also feel that Hendrix is trying to say that love is never permanent. In that sense love is always in a "hello, goodbye" state, i.e. we gain someone we love (hello) and then we lose them (goodbye). I have kind of agree with this part of the quote. For a while now my view on love has been questioned. I dunno whether I believe love exists or not. Or whether it is something that has been created and has since been installed into us from a young age by things such as music, film, TV and books. I do believe in love for family members and friends. But I am starting to question my belief in true love. The love in which a future might be built upon. This idea I will also talk about in my film recommendation this week. This also brings me to something that was brought up whilst having a conversation with a friend earlier in the week. The unpredictability of love. Love, if it truly does exist, can either be the greatest thing in the whole world. The feeling that you have found someone who you share deep feelings with, that you may well have met the right person for you. It is an indescribable feeling. But then again love can be the worst thing that someone would ever have to endure. When a relationship breaks down there is nothing worse than still having feelings of love for someone and knowing that those feelings will never be reciprocated. Or the knowledge that you will never share that love with the same person again. I know the feelings only too well. It is the worst feeling in the world and I would never wish for anyone to have to endure it in their life. Sadly everyone goes through this feeling. It is like my friend so greatly put it: "The best love is, sadly, also the worst love." I would just like to thank this friend, they know who they are.


So, my week, how has it been? Well since Tuesday it has been really really boring. I have had literally feck all to do. Tuesday has really been the only highlight of the week. Met up with two friends in town which was good. Spent some time driving around Hull listening to Violent Pornography by System of a Down (to the enjoyment of the people in the cars next to us). We then parked up and spent a good half an hour exploring the many aisles of Toys R Us. Highlight of the trip: arranging two toys to make it appear that a dragon is raping a shark. Lovely image for any poor child to come across. It was a good day with good friends and definitely something I would want to happen again. The rest of the week has been rather boring. Mostly been spent watching DVDs, reading my book, (once again) playing Lego Star Wars and organising songs for the band to try out. Last week, I spoke about someone I fear I have lost. And I said that if they were happy then I would leave them alone. Well it would seem that they are much happier without me in their life. So as I said, I will not bother them anymore. All I have ever wanted has been for them to be happy and it would appear they are now much happier, which makes me happier.


Now to my recommendations for this week. The film this week is (500) Days of Summer. And the music is three songs by the band Atreyu.
The film that I want to recommend is (500) Days of Summer. I always wanted to see this film as it had gotten very good reviews and I had heard it was really good. This film is not only good, but it is also very funny and it accurately portrays the feelings during and after the breakdown of a relationship. The amount of times I said to myself "that is so true" or saw similarities with previous relationships, as well as their aftermaths, during this film is countless. Once more you feel for the male character, played brilliantly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you sit there and you want things to work out for this character. The films switches constantly between during the time of relationship and after it has ended to show you the change in his character. It brings about the question of "is love real?" which is why I mentioned it earlier. It questions the beliefs of fate and destiny. It also questions whether there is such thing as one true love; whether there is someone out there that is meant for you. Or whether it is something fabricated by media such as music, films and TV. It is truly a great film and I would seriously recommend anyone to see it.


The music that I am going to recommend this week is three songs by the band Atreyu. Now this band is a lot heavier than the other bands I recommended. But I recently just started listening to them again. And man have I missed them. First listened to this band about 2 years ago. The first song I'm going to recommend is Ex's and Oh's. This was their first song that I ever listened to and it is just brilliant. Even though the song is about the singer's dealings with alcoholism, the song's lyrics can also be attributed to the breakup of a relationship. The lyrics are truly great and the song then comes to possibly one of my favorite guitar solos in any song. This song started a love for this band that has recently been reignited. The other two songs are off their latest album The Congregation of the Damned, they are called Storm to Pass and Lonely. They are two truly great songs and once again they furthered my love for this band. I would really recommend this band to anyone. They really are great.


Well that's the blog for this week. Next one will be next Tuesday. So to finish I'll leave you with four videos. The trailer to (500) Days of Summer. And the music videos for Ex's and Oh's, Storm to Pass and Lonely. Enjoy.


Trailer:



Ex's and Oh's:



Storm to Pass:



Lonely:



So till next Tuesday. I hope that you have a good weekend. Stay safe. And I'll see you next time around.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

"Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art."

Well I'm back for another blog. Haven't really got much to say, although I do have some good news which I will tell you about a little later on.


Beforehand a little explanation for the quote I've used in the title. It is another quote by my hero and icon, Kurt Cobain. Now I know I went on about him in my last blog but since then all I have thought about is how he has stood out amongst other many people. The thing with Cobain is, I see him as being my hero. I see him this way because he went through problems similar to mine and he is very much the only person I can think of who could successfully channel his problems and the feelings that had spawned from these problems out to a general public through his music and this made people more aware. And, to me, that's what makes him such and iconic and tragic figure. Cobain went through his problems. He made people aware of them through his songs. But sadly it would appear that his problems and emotions got the better of him. And Cobain very tragically killed himself in 1994. Now back to the quote and it's very self-explanatory in its meaning. The tragedies that Cobain went through in his life influenced him. And he took those tragedies and formed them into his art, or what we would know as the great band that was Nirvana. Cobain stands out amongst other rock stars as he was genuinely all about the music and only wished to get his feelings and emotions across to a more general audience. He was truly a genius and master of his art. And he will always have a place in my life as an icon and a hero.


Now for my news. A band is in the works. Myself and four friends will hopefully soon be forming a band. We haven't got an official name yet. However, I have thought of two names already:

1. The Dropouts.
2. The Undesirables.

We should be meeting up some time soon and music shall be made. We gonna try a cover of Maggie's Farm originally by Bob Dylan, but we're going to do the Rage Against the Machine version. It's all very, very exciting.


How have I been feeling since last time? Again been up and down. Thought certain aspects of my life would get back to normal. I turned out to be wrong. I fear I've lost someone who was important to me. The reason why: because I let my emotions get the better of me. I haven't spoken to this person in fair few weeks. And stupidly I thought I could just talk to them like nothing had happened. As I said, I was wrong. All I want is for them to be happy. And if they're happier without me then maybe I should just let go and leave them alone. It would probably be for the best. Who knows? Other than this, I've been alright. Saw Inception last Thursday. It was truly a phenomenal film and I would highly recommend seeing it. Since then it's been lie-ins, plenty of book-reading time and time well spent wasted on Lego Star Wars on the PS2. Feeling pretty optimistic for the future, especially with the band. So everything should be alright. I hope.

Well that's it for now. No recommendations this time as they'll be for later in the week with the next blog, which will be up on Saturday. So keep your eyes peeled.

So for now I'll leave you in the very capable hands of Rage Against the Machine with their cover version of the famous Bob Dylan song Maggie's Farm. Enjoy.

So until Saturday. I hope you have a great week. Stay Safe. And I'll see you next time.

This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.

Much love

x

"I used bits and pieces of other's personalities to form my own"

Well I'm back for my second blog. I'm hoping to do a blog twice a week starting next week. I'm gonna do this for two reasons:

1. It keeps me occupied throughout this very long, very slow and, so far, very boring summer.
2. Its a way for me to let my feelings out. Which helps quite a bit.

A little explanation to the quote that I've used in the title. It's a quote by Kurt Cobain. A man, who in the past couple of months, has become an icon in my eyes. Been listening to a lot of Nirvana recently cos it seems to be the only music that suites my moods at the minute. This man truly has stood out as a figure in my life. He successfully gets his sufferings and torments across to us in his music. And, in my own personal opinion, he speaks for all those in my generation that suffer from unwanted feelings and emotions that can lead us, sadly, to self destruction, as was the case with Cobain himself who, as many people say about him, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin and Jim Morrison, will forever remain 27. I like this quote because I personally feel that it describes me pretty well. I feel that anyone who doesn't know me, won't like who I truly am. And in doing so I create a persona for myself.  To create this persona I take bits off characters I read about or see on the TV or people that I know in life. And then with these bits I create this false personality. One I hope people will like. With this creation I keep my real personality to myself as if it were a well guarded secret.

This past week I've been up and down like a feckin' roller coaster. At times I've felt great and I think that's due partly that I have kept this past week (which I will talk about a little later). But at times I've felt hopeless, upset, lonely. A whole load of crap really. And I can't explain why I've been feeling this way. It seems that at every moment I feel like I'm finally getting on with my life and stuff something crops up that can really bring me down. And it really kills me inside. I can't find a way to vent these feelings and so they stay trapped inside. And then eventually they just come out in a storm of emotions.

I had a psychiatric assessment on this Tuesday that's just been. Looks like I'm finally getting myself sorted out. Talked about my feelings. How I think of myself. What leads to my depressions. The counsellor offered suggestions as to how I can help deal with these feelings. So I may end up in group therapy and taking anti-depressants to get my life back on track. Who knows what'll happen though. We can never truly know our futures until they are staring right in the face.

After my assessment I embarked on an unexpected and unplanned road trip to York with my cousin, Jack, Chris and Eddy. Day was filled with laughs, screams and was a really nice change to being stuck inside the house all day long. York is a beautiful city and one I would happily visit again as I may not have seen everything it had to offer. Still there's plenty of Summer left and another road trip may be in the works - however this one may not be so unexpected. Wednesday saw me traveling to Hull for some good old fashioned Laser Quest. However, the main fuses had broken meaning that the whole building had no power and therefore there would be no Laser Quest. Instead we made another unexpected and unplanned trip to Hollywood Bowl. Again the trip was filled with laughs, screams and pain from a certain passenger in the very back of the car. These past two days have possibly been the happiest I've been in quite a while. Let's just hope this happiness can carry on throughout the summer.

Well now it's to my recommendations for this week. I'm going to do this segment in the later blog of the week cos I don't think I'll be able to think of more recommendations twice a week.

Now the film I'm gonna recommend this week is In Bruges. It has been out for quite a while but I still find the whole film fantastic. It's funny, thrilling, action-packed and all round a great movie. My personal highlight is Ralph Fiennes screaming "You're a fucking inanimate object!" at his on-screen wife after destroying a phone. I find that it's one of those films you can watch and watch and watch and it'll still seem funny. Would definitely recommend seeing this film.

As I said earlier I've been listening to a lot of Nirvana recently as it seems to fit my moods pretty well. One song that I have been listening to the most is You Know You're Right. It is Nirvana at their best and is the final song to be released as a single after Kurt Cobain's death in 1994. The song is a final testament to the genuine pain of a generation expressed by Cobain in his songs and lyrics. At one point Cobain actually screams before the chorus. It gives you the sense that he is pouring his heart out to you. That he wants you to understand the pain that he has been going through. This song definitely sums up Nirvana for me. This was a band that expressed the feelings and emotions of a whole generation. I wish that I could have had a chance to see them live but, tragically, Kurt Cobain killed himself in 1994 when I would have only been around 2 years old.


I'll leave you with the music video of You Know You're Right by Nirvana. Enjoy.

Well that's it for my blog this week. Should have a blog coming round on Tuesday and then a second one on Saturday.

So until next Tuesday, I hope you all have a great weekend. Stay safe. And I'll see you next time.

This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.

Much love

x

A new start....

Hi I'm Ed. I'm 18. And I'm from the UK.
This is my first time blogging in over a year. Thought I'd give it a fresh new start. As I will with my life. Time to start over. Rethink the way I am. And improve myself as a person.
Things have gone crap in my life recently. So crap that I felt I would start blogging again.
I live in Hornsea in East Yorkshire with my mum and my brother.
I have recently been made single after a six month relationship fell apart. I find myself partly to blame for its demise as I'll explain later. I miss her. A lot.  And I still hold very strong feelings for her. I haven't really been myself since. I've  been upset, irrational, haven't been sleeping well, haven't been eating well and I've just generally been behaving like a prat. But I have to move on, otherwise as Butters Stotch from South Park says: "There'll be heck to pay! Heck I tell ya!" It will be hard. But life is hard so I've got to take it on the chin and get on with my life.
I've currently finished Sixth Form and am now awaiting my exam results. I hope to study history at either Leicester or Northumbria university. That's if I get the grades of course.
I suffer from depression. Quite a serious type of depression too. The smallest thing can set me off. My self esteem and confidence hit an all time low. I become very selfish. I shut myself off from the rest of the world. I  lash out at others who are trying to help. And I have often thought about ending it all. It is because of these feelings that ,I feel, my recent relationship collapsed. Because I can't control my emotions. I am currently seeking counseling to help combat my depressions. Thankfully (due mainly to the hard work of my GP) I will be receiving counseling soon. Hopefully things might start looking up.
Summer has finally arrived. Haven't got much planned. Hopefully spend some time with friends and keep me sane. Hope to refuel my childhood love for Lego. And hopefully after results I'll be jetting off to Spain with a very good friend for a Spanish road trip.
In my old blogs I used to do a recommendation of the week thing. It's only fitting I end this blog on a high note. So I'll give two recommendations. One song and a film that I have watched/heard and loved.
The song is The Bird and The Worm by The Used. Now there are two versions of this song, both of which I love. There's the normal version of the song with the lyrics and there's the Instrumental version. Now the first time I heard this song was for the trailer for Clash of the Titans, I didn't realise it was a band. I just thought it was some music the film company had put together for the trailer. But when my brother came home from uni a couple of months ago he brought with him all The Used albums on his hard drive. When I heard the song I instantly fell in love. The normal version is just your run-of-the-mill great rock song. The lyrics are great and the music, which I will come onto, is brilliant. The thing with the instrumental version is that even though it is pretty much the same song it sounds so much more different. With the lyrics, as I've said, it is your run-of-the-mill great rock song. But take away those lyrics and it becomes so much more epic as a song. And it makes you understand why it was used for the Clash of the Titans trailer.
The film that I'm gonna recommend this week is Where The Wild Things Are. The film, based on a children's story, tells the story of Max who after an argument with his mother runs away and sails away to an island where creatures known as "the Wild Things" live. The film is simply stunning. It has great performances by all it's cast. The Wild Things themselves look fantastic. It has truly been a long time since I've seen a film that has kept me engaged and entertained as Where the Wild Things Are did. The film is a masterpiece and I would greatly recommend anyone to see this film.
Well that's really it for my fresh start blog. Probably write another one sometime in the next week. So to end this blog I'll leave four links. One is the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsZXKLtDb-k
Another one is the trailer for Clash of the Titans to show how effective The Bird and The Worm is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6CJenNMsb4 
And the final two are the two versions of the song itself.
Music Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12dBCgAo-RA
Instrumental:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZJkJWxPbig
So until next time. I hope you all stay safe. Have a good weekend. And I'll see you next time.
Much Love
Ed
xxx