| Posted by Lou | The time is 10.35pm here in London UK |

Living statues.



I fucking hate them.




Do these people look entertained? No, they look like they're going "why the fuck would someone think I would give them money for sitting still in an ugly metallic costume?"

Living statues suck.

| Posted by Lou | The time is 6.15pm here in London UK |


Rather a long time ago Pretty Pretty Pretty posited a hairific use for surplus coconut milk, which I tried and was not overly whelmed by. It is rather messy and I found didn't really do much, but at the same time it costs fuck-all and does at least as much as a commercial hair treatment. (Sorry for forgetting to comment saying that, PPP. Better late than never?)

However, reading the post and exploring it further did lead me to discovering that coconut oil is supposedly the holy grail of hair treatments. (And a make-up remover! Will let you know after I've tried that.)

So when I stumbled upon a massive tub of coconut oil for £1 the other day, I decided to give it a go.

Note for any UK people reading this: coconut milk and coconut oil are waaaaaaay cheaper in the "ethnic" food aisles at That Evil Giant Supermarket Chain than they are in the regular aisles. Branded coconut milk with the noodles and cooking sauces = £1.39. Coconut milk in '70s tin with the Caribbean food = 79p*. Every little bit helps! ;-P

For me it was much more convenient to leave it in overnight than to be stuck at home for a couple of hours during the day. Therefore my pillow was covered in an old towel (actually I covered it in two old pillowcases and a towel, but there was no need to worry as it barely transferred onto the towel), I rubbed it through, and slept on it.

I did a double-shampoo, but that was probably unnecessary. (Actually a lot of people use coconut oil as a leave-in treatment, and I did notice that it provided instant shine that would be passable if sparingly used.) I also elected to condition, though apparently this is also unnecessary.

And as I said, my hair is now delightfully glossy and shiny and smells like coconut.

It was much more effective than recent commercial treatments I have tried, a heck of a lot cheaper, and bonus: no chemicals!



*My sister works in supermarket management and has this pet peeve that people buy brands and then complain how much they cost when there is an identical non-branded product for half the price that they have chosen not to purchase. I just thought I'd put that out there in the interests of our pet peeve adoration. (As a food snob, I do not have this pet peeve.)

| Posted by Lou | The time is 6.34pm here in London UK |

I hate paying to be advertised to.

When I go to the cinema and they play more than twenty minutes of ads (and that's not including the previews) I start to feel pathological anger. (Yes Odeon, I'm looking at you.)

When I buy/rent a DVD and pop it in and a whole bunch of ads come on, I start to feel pathological anger.

But my biggest pet peeve of this realm is that stupid - STUPID - anti-priacy ad. You know the one: "you wouldn't steal a car... you wouldn't steal a hand-bag..."

1. This ad only ever shows up on legit DVDs/ cinema screenings. You know, after you've paid. Which sort of implies that you are actually supporting the industry and not in fact pirating. Preaching to the choir much?

2. The examples are not comparable. Stealing a car is a very different thing than downloading a film.

3. Downloading something you actually wouldn't pay for so would never see otherwise actually does enhance the word-of-mouth marketing of that film. (Well, unless it's shit. In which case, who cares?) And in this world of spin-offs and sequels that potentially creates a paying customer for the next film's cinema release.

4. Fundamentally, how do they know I wouldn't steal a car?

5. Oh, and did I mention that the ad just generally sucks? And that if I see it one more time it might push me over the edge?



N.B.: I strongly advocate against the downloading of Kiwi cinema, of course. But when it comes to those Hollywood fuckers, go for your life. Unless the protagonist is a genuinely great female character, in which case you should give them money.

| Posted by Bel | The time is 10.01am here in Wellington NZ |

Something that always mortifies me is when I see someone strutting down the street looking fine in their finery - and then I spy price stickers still adhered to the bottom of their shoes.

This upsets me on many levels. Let's explore!

1) I am upset with myself because essentially I am just being judgemental because really my problem with it is that I think it looks common. Biiiiiiiitch.

2) It looks common. SHUT UP IT DOES!!

3) One of my favourite weird OCD pleasures in life is removing stickers off things after I have bought them. This includes, but is not limited to:

• CD jewel cases
• Paperback books
• Crockery sets
• Shoes

4) I feel an irrational personal concern for the bestickered person in the same way I do for people who are driving along with their coat or skirt caught outside of the door, or standing in front of me in a queue with a label sticking up out of their collar.

Visual examples sourced from Google Images:

This is someone called Fearne Cotton. I have no idea who she is and yet I feel such mortification on her behalf.

This is that woman Eva Longoria off telly. She always reminds me of a dear friend of mine to the extent that they are pretty much the same person in my head and thus seeing this, I am like "Oh Bee! How did I let this happen to you!" and feel personally responsible as well as mortified.

| Posted by Lou | The time is 3.05pm here in London UK |

Bel and I really like to discuss science.

Nail science, that is.

Not so long ago nail polish was relegated to decorating my toenails in times of summer, but after Bel dragged me along to the O.P.I. counter at Kirks last year I've become a little bit addicted.

Hence after she sent me this link to some nail science of the highest order, I decided to try and do something different.

Turns out I'm as unco-ordinated as I expected to be, and only managed this appallingly simple effort despite being fairly ambi-dexterous:

This is A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find with a touch of Big Apple Red on the tips

(yes I do select colours based on their names)
(and yes, my hand is so wrinkly that the macro zoom did indeed focus on the wrinkles)

That is all.