Quick! Say something stupid!

"Whose idea was it to do this?!"

That was my panicked exclamation upon arrival at this 'Speed Dating'. Talk about speed. Have you ever tried to have entire 'Lets get to know YOU' conversations in 2 minutes. If someone found their love of their life in that amount of time, under the influence of that amount of alcohol, I will truly be surprised. As it turns out, it was my brilliant idea. If I could have said any more stupid things to any more people it would probably have started the Rapture, because I said a lot of dumb shit. Don't get me wrong, a bunch of other people said some dumb things as well, and people asked some weird questions, and I had some bad conversations with people... but at least I left my house... right? I mean... I came out better than the Lawyer guy who was the biggest douche ever and the guy that drives a rubbish truck, oh and that guy that asked me what my favourite colour was.

There were some great characters though; The cool beard guy. He was cool.

Jody was the highlight of my evening though. She asked al the famous people what they did for a living. Phahahaa.

Classic.

Classic Jody.

tut tut

I'm also really excited about Another-Day. Its the coolest thing on the face of the planet. (What even is over exaggerating any more?) I read it religiously now. Its gotten to the point where I need an app to keep up. 

Another-Day is a Jo'burg based blog (obviously)

It's pretty exclusive.

Whatever

I wish I was cool enough to have a cool blog, specifically cool, but at least I have you guys!

(the empty room inside my computer)

Maybe I have too many floral things?

As always:

I have a poopy face

:D

&KathrynWhat

Shoulda been a DJ

I love making music mixes. I feel like I'm actually good at it. 8tracks is my favourite internet hangout.
Check 'em out if yah like.

1. Ching Ching Ching - Nikki Costa

2. American Girl - Bonnie McKay

3. Smoke Weed Everyday - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg

4. On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons

5.  This is Gospel - Panic! At the Disco

6. Northern Downpour - Panic! At the Disco

7. Million Dollar Bills - LORDE

8. White Teeth Teens - LORDE

1. You and Your Crown - Matthew Mole

2. Simple Child - Matthew Mole

3. One Long Day - Shortstraw

4. The Wedding Blues - Shortstraw ft. Shane Durrant

5. Do Do Do - Fire Through the Window

6. Golden - Fire Through the Window

7. My Name - The December Streets

8. Papa Said - The December Streets

1. What I Got - Sublime

2. Hey Now - Martin Solveig & The Cataracts ft. Kyle

3. Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry

4. Summer Vibe - Walk Off the Earth

5. That summer Feeling - City Bowl Mizers

6. American Pie - Don McLean

7. I Knew You Had a Heart Attack - Taylor Swift/Demi Lovato Mash Up

8. Best Song Ever - One Direction

1. Clarity - Zedd ft. Foxes

2. Classified - Inner Ninja ft. David Myles

3. Radar Detector - Darwin Deez

4. Timber - Pitbull ft. Ke$ha

5. Gorilla - Bruno Mars

6. Wear Me Out - Skylar Grey

7.  Things We Lost in the Fire - Bastille

8. Unconditionally - Katy Perry

&Kathrynwhat
xxx

Kathryn Made a Video!

I've been dabbling in video making and whatnot this year and this is my second Stop Frame animation and my first video that I've made all by myself. I think its really cool. I hope it makes you uncomfortable and want to poop your pants.

Thanks for watching.
Its about being really confused and struggling with who you really are and who society wants you to be based on the concept of Ideology for Breakfast.

&Kathryn

Story of My Life

Except with out the crazy dance moves and the ability to pull sweet ass at clubs.

Woke up to this beauty and then watched it like eight times and told all my friends about it and then they told me that i need to get a life and then I made this blog post about it and now I'm seriously considering the direction my life is taking. Not everyone has One Direction you know.

#whydoialwaysmakeawkwardpopculturereferencesthatnooneunderstands #whatislife

Also, after I facebook stalked this guy I realised that we have like 12 mutual friends. #supercreep

Its pretty cool. (the video I mean)
You should watch it.

&Kathryn

Well, this is awkward.

This an awkward picture of me.
Jumping.
lol
Thanks internet, for sharing my pain.

So its from the Facebook page of Two guys with Glasses, and I think its the first picture that anyone has taken of me at these gigs. I always see everyone else's and they all look super cool and high def but you know, whatever. 

Guess where I was? Jokes i'll just tell you. It was this thing called Boosh, like the 18th one or something ridiculous like that. Yeah man, ShortStraw played, Desmond, Wrestlerish, Yo Grapes... Earl Grey and Croquet... those guys... 

Pretty chilled out, had a party, kinda socialised with people, maybe. What even is socialising, and how can one tell if it has been successful or not...

I'll tell you about my cool shirt some other time, (and also about the three word conversation I had with Shane Durant)

Im trying to keep my fan-girling low key.

Don't take anything I say seriously, I can't even.

&Kathryn

The Market Place

Today I ventured out into the world to do some exploring. Weird right, I never leave my house any more. I tagged along with my Mom (classic me right) to one of my favourite South African Markets; The Mosaiek Crafts Expo. I've been before and you can read all about that little trip here.
South Africa has so many cool Markets, and because I'm a Craft Market fanatic I tend to frequent them, from the biggest to the smallest to the weirdest and of course, they're all wonderful.

This time though was a little blast from the past and a look into the future. Gahd, I'm deep.

Ice-Cream Necklace by Two on Toast

Ice-cream and Necklaces?! Damn, could it have gotten any better than this? Two on Toast is a great little South African find started by two Besties that share my passion for tea and toast. Check out their website at: www.twoontoast.co.za They have pretty cool stuff, especially the dresses.

Denim Backpack by Skinny Cow

I love Skinny Cow, they have the coolest jewellery and accessories, and to make it even better I nabbed this beauty! Good for the beach or to be super cool which is obviously what I will be doing with it. You can check out their Facebook Page or just head on over to their shop in Linden.

Wooden Stud Earrings by Net 'n Kameel

 Net 'n Kameel has the coolest wooden broaches and earrings, but if thats not your thing you can check out their silver, cut out necklaces on their Facebook Page.

Fabric Covered Tin Mugs by Jamtin

I absolutely love to collect odd and extraordinary mugs, so you can imagine my delight when I found this beauty. Jamtin have a range of awesome Fabric covered Tin Mugs and Lanterns. You can check out their website (here) and maybe even indulge your tea scenes to one of theses guys.

So that was my little outing to the Market. Yay!

Ok

&Kathryn

Cant wait for the Kramers Market in January! This is what happened last time.

Illustration Contemplation

This afternoon I wanted to do something fun and creative and then this happened!

They're posters inspired by some of my favourite South African Bands.

I guess I ate too many cupcakes and drank too much caffeine in the form of Five Roses, either that, or I'm a super lameo. Classic right. 

Whatevr.

I'm gonna make more noww...

Shortstraw - Couch Potato

Mathew Mole - You and Your Crown

Shortstraw ft. Shane Durant - The Wedding Blues

Desmond and the Tutus - The Future

Peace Out
&Kathry

Chart

This is my personal opinion on how cool Television Broadcast Channels and their Brands are.
I based this information on my limited knowledge of percentages and on how many cool shows, in my opinion, there are on that channel. Its also judged by the coolness of the shows that its showing and not by the amount (Reality shows do not count)

CBS - 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Under the Dome.
HBO - GIRLS, Game of Thrones, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire.
FOX - The Simpsons, American Dad, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine Nine, GLEE.
Mnet - Ray Donovan, Suits, Homeland, Nashville.
eTV- How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, The Young and the Restless.

I really enjoyed the Emmy's Choreography number. I really want to watch American Horror Story: Asylum. Yes.

&Kathryn

Positive Brand Review

Is a Television Show even a brand, or is the Company that pays for it and broadcasts it the Brand? Hmmm... We... with my amount of experience with brands and such things like Branding Strategy I... have no idea.

But I am going to try and make you believe that I know exactly what's going on here.

There are so many Television Broadcasters out there. Just in South Africa we have MNET (Did you know there's also an MNET in South Korea and Australia?), SABC 1,2,3 and eTV. Then we have DSTV with all it's 500 channels, like The Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the Style Network... the list is ENDLESS! Then you have to think about the huge corporations in America and England like Fox, CBS, HBO and the BBC. Television is a huge deal. It brings us all the news and entertainment we could ever wish for, right into our living rooms from around the world.

Let's not get in too over our heads here. Lets start small, not get to crazy over this thing. Its no big deal - its only Brand Strategy.

MNET:
Mnet started way back in 1986 and has been going strong ever since, with loads of International hits and a bunch of locally produced shows like Carte Blanche. Over they years, Mnet has increased the viewer ship of their audience by spicing things up with the shows we have all been anxiously awaiting to watch from America and other places overseas. Earlier this year they were screening shows simultaneously to the States, which was pretty cool, because you didn't have to spend all your internet trolling time trying to avoid spoilers of your favourite shows.

"I really enjoy watching Mnet, it has my shows on!" - Kendyll, Durban.

Mnets logo is a blue 'M', in a ribbon that has been spiced up over the years to look more classy and sophisticated, doing the brand well to reach its target audience and really put itself on the map as worth while channel when DSTV came around. It as finally a worthy competitor taking on channels of a higher calibre.

Mnet has many ways of keeping its viewers entertained and in touch on a personal level, with initiatives like Mnet Cares.

There are also many opportunities for viewers to get involved with competitions and premium initiatives with Mnet and DSTV.

Mnets Sunday Night movies have always meant family time for people, and that's the kind of connection with the people of South Africa and the audience that Mnet has built up over the years. They're all about connecting people, bringing magic into their homes and lives.

"It's a good and bad thing. People are sleeping at that time, but the movies are good usually." - Daniel, Johannesburg.

Thanks for listening

&Kathryn

The Train

She pulled her thin, black jumper tighter across her shoulders, shielding her from the cool morning breeze that was blowing through the train station. She had slipped into the ladies room to fix her make up before buying her ticket for the 5:45 train home. The toes of her boots were dotted with raindrops that had started to fall from the dark clouds above, she looked down at them. They were scuffed and a bit tattered, but she loved them all the same.

"Oh, what fun they had together" she thought, a wry smile spreading across her lips.

A low whistling and a rumble of the steamtrain engine could be heard way in the distance. She took one last drag from her cigarette before dropping it to the dampening ground and stubbing it out with the toe of her boot. Amelia gathered up her belongings that she had absent mindedly cast to one side of the bench, the one without the sleeping man spread across it; her ticket grasped tightly between her fingers as she eagerly awaited for the train to arrive.

She shivered a little.

On the train, she pulled a thick, black journal with weathered yellow pages and a pen. There were other passengers on board, but most of them were asleep having been on the train all night. Amelia began to write. The scratching of her pen against the paper echoed through the dimly lit cabin as the sky outside turned a lighter grey. The train chugged through the landscape and into the city before disappearing underground and plunging the train into semi darkness before the attendants turned on the florescent lights. People had started to wake now and were rubbing sleep from their eyes. A mother in the seat next to her was cooing gently as she shook her two children awake, touching their shoulders to rouse them while folding their blankets into a brown duffel bag. 

Amelia closed the book she had been scribbling in and stuffed it hastily back into her bag, ready to make her departure. 

*

A delicious smell of sugar and hot coffee filled the apartment as Amelia slipped in through the front door, her keys jingling as she dropped them into the bowl where they kept their keys. 

"I'm home!" she called to the house as she dumped her bags at the door and pulled off her shoes as she walked. 

"'I'm starving!" she groaned taking a seat at the counter and looking over just in time to see her room mate take a bite out of her toast as she leaned against the counter looking at Amelia suspiciously.

"Good night then I see" she said over her toast, as she took another bite.

"Great night! But I'm not sure this hangover or the endless, early morning train ride are worth it".

Her room mate scoffed as she walked over to a cabinet and pulled out two mugs and set the kettle to boil. 

"What did you end up doing?" Amelia asked as she made her way into the kitchen in search of food to ease the growling that had erupted in her stomach again. 

"Oh, you know, same old same old. I finished my shift around two and then Roberto tried to hit on me again. He followed me all the way down the street begging me to go for a drink with him bu-" 

"Did you?!" Amelia exclaimed.

"Of course not! He's a slime ball and I'm getting over it. I cant work there any more, the long hours, the bad tips. Its all too much for me to bare, not to mention school!"

"Maybe if you just give him a chance..."

Jessa took one last bite of toast before she had to leave for her classes in town. Amelia stood in the kitchen for a little while longer, letting her imagination run wild for a bit at the thought of Jessa and Roberto on a date, but soon, also dismissing the idea as a moment of insanity. She finished her tea and padded up the narrow wooden staircase to a nice hot shower and her blue toothbrush sitting in a the cup by the sink.

Inspired by: http://thetruestoryofameliapickles.wordpress.com/

Inspirato.

The Carrie Diaries

Outfit Inspired by Dorit Bradshaw

Jimmy Hendrix T-Shirt; Denim High-waisted Shorts; Ankle Boots
and a Navy Blue and Red Button-up Jumper.
Accessories: Beige Sunnies; floral bracelets and a pair of over sized floral stud earrings.

 The Carrie Diaries

Outfit Inspired by Carrie Bradshaw

Blue Cotton Blazer with Pinstripe detail on the sleeve;
Pink patterned dress and, a Blue and White satchel handbag.
Accessories: Light pink lace glove; Owl earrings with Turquoise inset stone
and a flower detailed headband.

 The Carrie Diaries

Outfit Inspired by Larissa Loughlin

Black  Cropped T-shirt; High-waisted Plaid trousers with Black Velvet Pumps.
Accessories: Black Glam Clutch bag; Red Sunnies and a Silver Rope headband.

Two Broke Girls

Outfit Inspired by Caroline Channing

Black Floral Cap Sleeved Blouse and

Rust coloured High-waisted shorts with button detailing.

Accessories: Bronze Chunky bracelets; Crystal pendant and Clock inspired earrings. Leopard print pumps paired with a Brow fedora and a Radio inspired handbag. 

Two Broke Girls

Outfit Inspired by Max Black

Black and Red Plaid Collared Shirt, with a Black High-waisted A-line Skirt;
 paired with Black Platform, lace-up shoes with Pleather detailing on the toe.
Accessories: Light Brown Skinny Belt and assorted Rings. 

Walk Off the Earth

Youtube is a wonderful place, which I fear I have only just discovered. Before I used to look at a few things, maybe check back every so often to the same places and not quite realise the wonder that is withheld in the depths of this magical cavern of creativity. I never fully understood what was happening on the internet and could never really be apart of it fully. I feel like I've been changing that the last couple of weeks though - through the wondrous world of Fan Fiction and the depths of blogging and internet magazines.

You can follow my Youtube channel by clicking here :D

One of the best discoveries I've made in the last couple of days had been the band called
Walk Off The Earth. I remember seeing a video of theirs early in 2012, but didn't take the time to note down the name and so it went unnoticed in my life. This was their cover of "Somebody that I Used to Know" by Gotye, where the five of them played one guitar. Their video and unconventional styling had over 35 Million views in under two weeks. Almost a year and a half later and they're taking Youtube by storm again with their Cover of "Royals" by LORDE.

The Music Video Cover for Royals is the five band mates playing fur ukuleles and other percussion instruments in a new and innovative way.

The most fascinating part of their Covers of other artists is the way that they do it and the Music Videos they make - this is probably the reason for them being as cool as they are.

I highly encourage you to watch their music videos because they are probably the best things ever, in the world. Ever.

&Kathryn

P.S. Maybe I should go platinum blonde.

P.P.S. I judge how much I like people and music based on hair. If yah aint got good hair yah just aint cool enough, and that's the gospel truth.

I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY!

Tuesday the 17th of September, the day we've all been waiting for.
New Girl Season Three is about to Premier in Northern Hemisphere.

I first started watching New Girl earlier this year after spending some time with my friends who were really into it. Obviously, succumbing to peer pressure is never a good idea unless Zoey Deschannel is involved, and even then I advise you to ask your parents first.

Let me tell you why New Girl is really great:

1. Nick Millers Grump Face
2. Cece's poker face thats just like: "Why am I friends with this Girl..."
3. Winston being so randomly there and not really apart of anything, especially that time he gets 'Sympathy Cramps'.
4. Schmidt Quotes
5. Jessica Day's vvery own theme song (which I can happily say I can play on the Ukulele. Winning life.) 

I was sitting at VEGA at on of the tables, casually minding my own business, only a few episodes in and I heard someone at another table talking about what was happening in the episode they were on. It was at this point I found out about the Big Kiss. I now had to watch until I saw it - Episode 15 of Season 2. I was with all the other girls sitting in the edge of their chairs/beds/couches waiting with bated breath and sighing into their pillows at the though of finding someone to kiss as passionately as that.

Without further adieu, here's a New Girl Season 3 teaser trailer:

Enjoy.
&Kathryn

PS. So excited can't keep down dinner. Only Joking! Or am I...

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Last night, I went to see the Premier of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and it was the most amazing movie I have ever seen in my life and I cant wait to read the books and also see the next one which I hope they make, even though it bombed at the Box Office in America.

Let's all just take a minute to think about what we're doing as people. We're ruining things for people because were all trying to shove things into little boxes called 'Similarity' and I would personally like it to stop, thanks. Not only has everyone been trying to classify this movie as 'Another Twilight Disaster' but I'm shocked to see that it has worked.

Not having gone to the movie with any premise as to what awaited me when the film started rolling, I actually got to see and experience the movie, and the storyline for what it was.
There was no lame, 'I can't live without you so let me lie in the forest for three days or stare out the window because I'm dense'. No. there was real conflict and aspiration and character development throughout the film.
The storyline followed Clary trying to find her Mother and trying to navigate the waters of what seems to be a complicated family relationship.
The love aspect of the movie was a nice touch, and the Love Triangle best friend thing was a classic and quite frankly unavoidable - I mean, everyone knew it, even Clary - that's why she kept denying it.

Clary is the protagonist of the series, a strong headed; brave, young girl who has been thrown into the crazy mixed up world below New York City. Besides being a bad-ass demon-hunting chick, who hates the idea of unnecessarily looking like a skankily clad hooker to fit in with the Goth Scene, she also enjoys poetry readings.
Yes! Finally a cultured young woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to fight for it, or her family! Bella Swan you suck because all you could do was make a forcefield with your mind and you couldn't even do that right. Bitch.

I think that its a great new representation of the supernatural world without it being lame Vampire - Werewolf fights. Even when there are vampires, there are loads of them, fighting like crazy in a dining room. A DINNINGROOM. If that doesn't freak you out then you're broken. It's like they invite you to dinner and you're the dinner. Also, they actually burned in the sun.
Uhm, do I even have to mention the demonic dog/snake/body goo crawling around trying to eat Clary in the first scene...?

This whole Mortal Instruments series is pretty darn fab-tastic if you ask me. Dark, sinister, slightly creepy and weird but I think the world needs it after the horror that Stephanie Meyer made Vampires into... and that's not horror in a good way.

Having said that, let me just tell you a couple things you may not know about TMI: City of Bones.

1. It's Great.
2. It's as if Star Wars, 300, True Blood, Wolverine and Harry Potter all got together ha a massive orgies and made this movie/franchise/book/amazement.
3. There's some crazy background story going on, which actually has been translated well into a movie - not just some shiny vampires looking at some girl cause she smells good. Ugh. The storyline has many different elements, and lets be honest, there isn't enough time in a movie to accurately show each and everyone to it's full and wonderful potential so they've kept the important stuff. I mean the series is six books!
4. It's damned well not about the Vampires!
5. Shaddowhunters are half angel half human and have sworn to protect Humankind from Downworlders. Also, the Mundanes (Humans) can't see them which makes for some really hilarious/cool scenes when the humans are like "Whaaaa?". When I grow up I want to be a Shaddowhunter.
6. Jace Wayland (Not sure if this is his name or if he's Johnathan Wayland or Jace Lightwood) either way he drips with sarcastic humour which I highly appreciate.
7. Classic the only Mundane along for the ride seems to be good ol' Nathan from Misfits putting on an America Accent. Still he has really good bone structure, and makes for a great Nerdy Best Friend/vampire/I hope he becomes a vampire.
8. This.
9. Jamie Campbell Bower.
10. Lily Collins and her fantastic hair. Makes me wish I was a redhead lets be honest.

I don't really want to think about the whole Cassandra Clare Fan Fiction debacle because it makes me sad and I want to live an innocent, ignorant naive life where it doesn't exist, even though I spent about four and a half hours doing as much digging as humanly possible and trying to find the 'Draco' Fanfic Novels to read with little to no success. Ah well... I will still read the books and watch the movies and try not to think about the terrible reality that is the Cassandra Clare Plagiarism/Draco - Ginny Romance that inspired the Mortal Instruments series.

Cant wait for the next one.

&KathrynWHAT

The City is Wild.

A short, albeit, slightly shaky Stop Frame Animation I've made. It's based on an 'Emotional Response' to the City of Johannesburg - Supposedly somewhere I've never been before.

It has kind of evolved into the story telling of a character whose journey through life in the city abruptly ends as he wastes away without something to keep him awake and alive and wanting to be more. The city is then reclaimed by Nature and returned to what it was before the hatred, animosity and turmoil that surrounds it took over. It shows a battle between the Concrete Jungle, as it were, and the strife of humanity as they try and find their place in the world where you are judged for being who you are and forced to serve a life of loneliness and solitude before you die and becoming part of the ground we were made from.

Not to get too deep.

Whatwhat.

Before the Rain

I have slowly been rediscovering my love for photography and taking pictures. I took to the wilderness that is my garden, something I rarely do due to the fact that I'm allergic to the world that isn't connected to the World Wide Web. Just kidding. I had a fragile childhood.

Here are some pictures of flowers and the Creatures of the Wilderness I found on them.

Plum Blossoms

Orange Cliveas

A bee friend, amoungst the Lavender, for me.

Purple Bougainvillea.

Yellow Clivia. 

A forgotten Door.

Wall Pot Planter

The old Lemon Tree that used to be my Tree House.

Berries.

Hades

Pink Bougainvillea

After it rained on Sunday night, most of the blossoms are gone, but the grass is looking a little greener. The days have started to get unbearable hot already and the sun, as it always does in summer has started setting later. It looks like its going to be scorcher. 

Better get out my Summer clothes

&Kathryn

Nothing to write about.

Why do people go jogging?
Why does slow motion exist?
Why does Alcohol work?
Why is nothing ever how we want it to be?
Why do things change?
Why does the sound go up and down on the radio?
Why do people have to get married?
Is it wrong for me to not want something thst others cant have?
Why do people make other people angry?
Why are you so interested?
Why do people make art?
Does art make people?
why do we listen to other peoples questions?
Why do people disagree with reason?
Why do people get sad?
Why is it okay for rich people to be rich?
Why is being poor a bad thing?
Why do people get happy?
Why doesn't it last?
Why am I more important than other people?
Why cant everybody dance?
Why do people judge each other?
Where did religion come from?
Why do people ask questions?
What's up with that?
Who made cartoons?
Why does the phrase "Don't cry over spilled milk exist"?
Why are some people uncomfortable with things that others find normal?
Why are some people morning people?
Why does language exist?
What even is that?
What is a friend?
Why do they need things?
Why does nail polish make you girl-y?
What makes cars manly?
Why do we box ourselves in with these gender roles?
Why don't people find that strange?
Why is it called Westernisation?
What is paradise?
Why cant everyone just get along?

#5 Dan Harmon

#SIXSEASONSANDAMOVIE

Dan Harmon is the creator, and up until 2009, was the executive producer and writer of the cult tv show- Community.

The show, while only having 3 full seasons and a 12episode fourth season quickly gained a cult following. 

The show follows the lives of six community college students, dealing with the consequences of not having made the life choices they need to get into an ivy league school.

The main character Jeff Winger, fakes his Lawyer Degree and got found out, with his sentence begin ti go back to community college to get a certified certificate to practice law. 

He starts a study group to get the number of an attractive student but word spreads and he is now stuck with his band of misfits known and the 'Study Group'.

Harmon made the announcement at comic con that he and newly appointed McKenner will return to the show for Season 5 of Community. He will focus on the characters more than the highly conceptualized outings they normally go on.

"Anthropology? Anthropology? Anthropology?"

- Jeff Winger

&Kathryn

#4 Josh Shwartz

Josh Shwartz is the executive producer of some of he best Teen Dramas to have hit the small screen since Dawson's Creek. Here's a fun fact: He is the youngest person to be in charge of running and producing a television show.

He got his tart producing the Drama series The OC, with 27 episodes commissioned for the first season. 

The show was set to air during the American Summer Hiatus, just before the start of their Baseball Season. The shows pilot aired three times before it got a following making the next 7 episodes of the show highly crucial.

The characters gained a huge following making them the most recognisable characters on television at the time.

Since then, Josh Shwartz has gone on to produce other hit teen dramas, including; Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie and most recently The Carrie Diaries.

“The idea behind that was that Orange County sort of had a very distinct musical sound at that time—there was sort of a scene coming out of there. I always viewed it as wanting the music to feel like an extension of the emotional lives of the characters, which I guess sounds kind of pretentious. When I was sitting down to write the pilot, there was this Joseph Arthur song that plays at the end of the pilot, and when I heard that song, it was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is how I want the end of the show to feel.’  That it was less about the place and more about how our characters were feeling. It was a lot of the music that I was listening to, that other writers were listening to, that the actors were listening to. We didn’t have a lot of money for music back then, and it just happened to be indie rock that we were all listening to. It was cheaper to license, so that was a happy accident."

- Josh Shwartz

&Kathryn

#3 Chuck Lorre

If there were presidential-type elections for who would be God of the universe, and everything in it, I think Chuck Lorre would be a really good contender.

You may recognise the name form the screens fade to black, where his name is presented in white reverse type in the bottom, left hand corner in most of your favourite TV shows. 

Thats because he is the creator of some of my favourites like; The Big Bang Theory; Dharma and Greg; Two and a Half Men and a whole bunch more!

If you've ever taken the time to see what Chuck Lorre writes at the end of his shows (I know I have...) in his personal vanity cards, you'll understand my obsession. Not only is he hilarious, talented and charismatic but he is wonderfully passionate and takes the time to tell us why he hates humanity and a bunch of other waffle and I think thats beautiful and amazing and we should all worship Chuck Lorre.

You can now read them all right there infront of your face on the interwebmagicfunplace and be amazed at the amazingness.

"I believe that the Laws of Karma do not apply to show business, where good things happen to bad people on a fairly regular basis."

 -Chuck Lorre

&Kathryn

#2 Tina Fey

Tina Fey is literally my reason for living.
When I was much younger, I vowed that I would be her and I would be funny and amazing and not care what anyone thought of me as long as they were laughing. This was pretty much summed up for me when She and Amy Pohler hosted the Emmy Awards, doing impersonations and making jokes on stage that were completely outrageous, and moderately offensive.

I have seen Mean Girls countless times, and pretty much know every line off by heart. It has been almost 10 years since it was released and it is still one of the most relevant movies of our time.

Tina Fey mad history when she became one of Saturday Night Live's first Female Executive writers. DOING IT FOR THE LADIES!

After searching around on the internet for a while, I found that Tina Fey is starting work on a new series, the show will be a female-centric sit-com about a woman who reconnects with her father, and starts a new family on Fire Island.
NBC has picked up the series wich is being written by Fey and her 30 Rock co-Star Robert Carlock The show is said to be produced by Colleen McGuinness. Not to mention that it is the first project to be undertaken by Fey's production company: Little Stranger.
While the show does not yet have a name it is being highly anticipated by Tina Fey and 30 Rock fans all over the world.

Tina Fey is the Bombdiggidy.
&Kathryn

#1 Lena Dunahm

Lena Dunham is a New Yorker, born and bread. She is one of the most amazing writers in the industry today. She has taken her experiences and influence from her environment and made it applicable to the women of our generation. She is a fantastic writer, being able to capture the essence of what it means to be young today, even though it is bleak and hard to digest - I think thats the true beauty - being true to the complexities and nature of people.

Also, she's Fabulous.

You might know her form her raunchy drama GIRLS, or from her film Tiny Furniture.

I should be honest, that the first time I started watching GIRLS I was a little shocked and it took me at least three episodes to get into it, but now Im hooked.

It's the most radical TV Series on air at the moment, airing 13 years after 'Sex and the City', also a complicated drama based around women dealing with relationships in New york city. Back in the 80's SATC was all about women taking back their rights to be treated equally to men in the workplace and the bedroom, we have almost come full circle with GIRLS.
The GIRLS Main Character, Hannah, is trying to fight her way through the mine field of having casual sex, keeping her friends, finding the balance, her self and making a career for herself as a writer. She soon finds out that the whole Friends-with-benefits thing is harder than it looks on TV and that she need emotional recognition from her lover.

While Sex and the City was a highly romanticised portrayal of the lives that young, well educated women lead, glamourising the casual one night stands and the relationships between men and women, GIRLS strips it back to the nitty-gritty, hard-to-watch kind of relationships, that hit close to home.

The cast of Girls on HBO

Girls is honest.
It is so honest, that people cannot process it. The charecters are so caught up in their own heads, paranoid, and always looking for the next high, wich is how we are as people but we just cant see it. We have been blind to what we have become, and I think that Girls is a crucial turning point in social commentary on the expectations of todays young women.

&Kathryn

Tea and Toast

I guess I've always had some sort of existentialist side to myself, ever since I was little. I remember asking endless amounts of questions that no one could ever answer, and one I do remember, waaaaaay more vividly than the others, and that I never actually got the answer for was:
"Who invented the toaster?"

In case you were wondering it was
Charles Strite
Inventor
Charles Perkins Strite was an American inventor. He received U.S. patent #1,394,696 on October 18, 1920 for the pop-up bread toaster.

But my favourite question to ask, was why, and even to this day I love to sit with a nice cup of tea and a piece of toast and wonder what had to happen in the lives of people for them to invent things. Like the guy who discovered cheese. What on earth was he doing eating that bit of old milk?!

I'm quite the existentialist - modest too- but I always find myself asking "Why?" and not just about existential things like my existence and purpose, but also about things that I do and think are mundane, but have deep seated reasons and I like to figure them out. Like a scientist, proposing personal hypothesise.

Existentialism 
(ex·is·ten·tial·ism ) 
noun
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.

The most recent 'Hypothesis' I have proposed to myself, is one where I wonder what on earth fascinates me about the whole Television-Series-Thing.

I can bring it back to a few childhood memories. The first is watching an old, British, TV show called My Family every Wednesday with my Mom. This was tradition, and somehow there were enough episodes of My Family to watch for what feels like years and years of my life.
The second is watching the Emmy's every year. I absolutely love watching the Emmy's, and not because I'm obsessed with celebrities and whose the best etc, but rather for the first hour (or so) where they give the people behind the scenes awards - not to mention that the people who actually write the scripts for the award shows, are fantastic.
The writers, the directors and the producers. They're the ones who I'm the biggest groupie for. They're funny, and talented and spend so much time being able to articulate a concept and idea into the characters they develope, putting small snippets of themselves into each of them, watching them come to life on the screen.

I'm completely in awe and envy of those people, because all I've ever wanted is to be able to have the people and characters that I think of come alive and exist amongst the magnificent calibre of the greats. Often I think about weather otr not I'm on the right track in life, I wonder if this whole Design business if for me or if I should have just gone off to Rhodes to do journalism like I wanted to in the first place. I guess this is where the existentialism thing comes in. I'm always left wondering and unsure, a bit lost even, wondering if I made the right decsion going to Vega, or if I took the easy way out, and deviated from the path I'm meant to be on. But then, I have my own, personal, debate inside my head because I truly believe that things happen for a reason and that even the mistakes or bad decisions you make are planned and you're meant to be making them so that you can get to the place you're going to.
But is the point of life to get somewhere?
Isn't it all about the journey?

and in the great words of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (Screenplay)

Max's Father: Goddammit, Max! Get serious, for once! What are you going to DO with your life?
Max: Why is it always what will I do? "What will he do", "What will he do," "Oh, my god what will he do", Do, do, do, do, do. Why isn't the issue here who I am?
Uncle Teddy: Because, Maxwell, what you do defines who you are.
Max: No, Uncle Teddy. Who you are defines what you do. Right Jude?
Jude: Well, surely it's not what you do, but the, uh... the way that you do it.

This brings me to the first part of my new assignment:
"5 Pictures that represent your interest from a secondary source"

I hope you're ready for the next five posts about the best writers in the industry, because I know I am!

"Learn French or die"
&Kathryn

When I Grow Up...

This woman is my favourite person at the moment. I stumbled across her work whilst procrastinating having a real life and decided to see what else she did.

Dina Goldstein is a Conceptual Photographer who has done many pieces as a commentary on society and the world we live in. You can check out more of her work on her website: http://www.dinagoldstein.com/

Forgotten Princesses tells the stories of our favourite Disney Princesses after the Happily Ever After that we all grow up dreaming about. Snow White the Mother of four in an unhappy marriage, Cinderella the Alcoholic and of course, Rupunzel gets Cancer.

She tells these stories in such a fantastic way. I'm really intrigued as to the way she takes the photographs and the fact that you can see the shadows of the subjects and props in the frame on the background. This to me also represents the kind of 'Posterised' and 'Pre-misconceived' Ideals of society that we grow up in.

The Doll House tells the story of Barbie and Ken, a relationship seemingly perfect, but flawed behind the pristine plastic walls of their Dream House. Her images tell the story of their relationship falling apart and the impact a life's worth of lies coming to the surface can really have on a girl who thought she had it all.

What a crazy mixed up world we're all living in.

&Kathryn

A Cupcake for Me. A Cupcake for You.

Early this lovely, chilly, Friday morning I awoke with an entire list of very important things to do. I gave myself the whole day to do them, but instead I found myself baking away in the kitchen, procrastinating all those things on that very long list.

This is what I happened to make.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes!
Ingredients:
125g Softened Butter
125g Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
150g Self-raising flour
3 Tablespoons of Milk
25g Cocoa Powder

Don't forget to Pre Heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius!

Basically just mix everything together.
1. Cream the butter and sugar until its light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and then mix in the flour.
3. Gradually add the milk and the cocoa.
4. Get that delicious mix in the baking tray and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes, allow to cool.

For the Icing:
1. Add 25g of butter and cocoa powder, with a tea spoon of hot water and mix it all up until its creamy.
2. Add some icing sugar to get a thickness and add more cocoa to taste.
3. Then you can go right ahead and ice those babies!
4. Then eat them.
5. With tea
6. Whilst listening to music from the 80's

Those final steps are mandatory.

Enjoy!
&Kathryn