Geek Alphabet

I enjoy this a lot! (Only recognised about half though, must try harder.)

Give Me Your Eyes, I Need Sunshine

....So, last night, I had the great fortune to hear one of my top ten all-time favourite songs performed live, by the truly marvellous Wolf Parade!

Accompanied by some of the finest folk I know, we trotted off to a tiny working men's club in the student area of Leeds to see everyone's favourite Canadian foursome. Despite some serious heating issues, they put on an absolutely wonderful performance and had us all bopping away and singing along with gusto. A quality of theirs that I've always admired is the way they sound constantly on the cusp of tears as they sing, and I was pleased to note that this rings true in real life. My only gripe was that they did not play 'Grounds For Divorce' (sob, sniff), but with such an extensive back catalogue, personal favourites are bound to be missed out.

 In my mind, I always imagine them to be middle aged, a little bit chubbs and impressively bearded, but in reality they're rather young, reasonably attractive and only one of them in possession of good-quality facial hair. How about that! Despite me bringing along my camera, I took approximately zero photos of them, as I was far too buy enjoying myself/ trying to maintain a decent body temperature. My apologies. I did, however, visually capture this lol-tastic moment in time for your viewing pleasure...

Daydream Believer

I'm currently a little bit obsessed with this here song, by the always-wonderful Animal Collective and Vashti Bunyan, a lovely folk singer from the 60's with a voice a bit like a pan-pipe. Always a good thing, I reckon. This song is ideal for the moment you open your eyes in the morning and as you close them at night.... and every moment in between, really. 

Absoloute Dream Brownies

Our humble batch of brownies may not look much, but they sure as hell tasted amazing. One rainy Thursday, my two dearest chums and I set our hands at making the most ridiculously unhealthy baked goods around. And after more than one thumbs up for this particular recipe, we decided it would be rude not to give it a whirl. I strongly advise you to follow suit!

1. Break up 185g of dark chocolate, all the while exercising extreme self-control and not eating it (save for the odd rogue square). We plumped for Co-operative own Fairtrade confection, at the grand old sum of 90p, and I can tell you - it ain't half bad. 

2. Weigh out 185g of unsalted butter and - for want of a nicer word - mash it into the chocolate. As you can see it looks really quite unattractive, but have patience my friend. Pop it into a microwave for 2 minutes until it's transformed into a tasty chocolately sauce. Forget all about it for a while. 

3. Now is the time to put the oven on at 160 c and line a baking tray with foil. Weigh out 85g and 40g of flour and cocoa powder, respectively. Sieve it like nobodies business, as skillfully demonstrated by an excitable Jess. 

4. Now, chop up 50g each of milk and white chocolate into precise little squares. Alternatively, you could always just snap them in half if you're feeling lazy.. that's what we did, and it turned out just dandy. 

5. Crack three eggs into a mixing bowl, making sure to fish out any inevitable chunks of shell. That would be something of an unwelcome addition to your debut bite of brownie. 

6. Throw in 275g of caster sugar with your eggs, and set an electric whisk to the mixture until it's thick 'n' creamy, much like a milkshake. Make sure you keep swapping hands or have someone else to burden with the task, because it takes forever (well... about 8 minutes). 

7. By now, your chocolate and butter mix will have cooled down sufficiently, so you can begin the arduous process of 'folding' it into the eggs and sugar. The aim of the game is to slowly blend it together without getting too much air in the mixture. As you can see, it starts to looking pretty delicious round about now. 

8. Once it's all thoroughly mixed, it's time to add in your previously sieved flour and cocoa. Actually, you may as well sieve it again, for good measure. Fold this in the same way, until it looks pleasingly like actual cake mixture. 

9. Sprinkle in the chopped chocolate chunks, rejoicing in the fact that you may now eat the remaining chocolate, at long last! Stir furiously, then spatula the mixture into the lined baking tray. Pop it into the eagerly awaiting oven. 

10. Now you must face the longest 25 minutes of your life. Read trashy magazines, do a bit of Facebook noseying, whatever you like - anything to distract you from the chocolatey fumes wafting in from the kitchen. 

11. When those agonizing 25 minutes are up, it's time to seize it from the oven. Give it a little jiggle, because if the centre wobbles, it needs a few more minutes (sorry). If it stays firm like Beyonce's thighs, you're good to go. Well, almost, there's still the small matter of letting it cool down until it's not at a mouth-burning degree. Oh, and it should also be covered, curiously,  with what seems to be delicious brown paper. Give it 15 minutes and it's all yours...

Sweet Darlin'

Sweetest advert ever...?

Maude Loves Harold.

Until a few months ago, I had somehow got through life without seeing the truly wonderful 'Harold & Maude'. Immediately after my first viewing, I decided it was now one of my favourite films, even making it into my elusive top five. It's that good. For you unfortunate souls who haven't seen it, allow me to tell you a little about it. Nineteen year old Harold is a funny little creature morbidly obsessed with death, and his greatest pleasure in life is attending strangers funerals, driving his hearse and staging elaborate faux-suicides. His hilarious aristocratic mother decides it is time for Harold to get married (!) and so signs him up to a dating agency, with rather amusing consequences. 

Meanwhile, a familiar face keeps popping up at Harold's beloved funerals - the tiny, free-spirited and, frankly, genius Maude. The two soon become great pals, and before long, romance blossoms. There is only one teeny, tiny lil' problem - Maude is almost eighty years of age. This minor issue doesn't stop the two gradually falling in love, bringing joy to Harold for the first time in his short life. 

Of course, outsiders are thoroughly repulsed by the scenario at hand, with the local priest telling Harold: 'I would be remiss in my duty, if I did not tell you, that the idea of... intercourse - your firm, young... body... commingling with... withered flesh... sagging breasts... flabby b-b-buttocks... makes me want... to vomit.' And yes, they do eventually express their feelings in a physical fashion, but instead of actually showing them do the deed, we just see Maude blissfully sleeping whilst Harold casually blows some post-coital bubbles. It's more or less the best thing I've ever seen.

As ever, I shan't say too much for fear of ruining this delightful film for you. As well as being oh-so-interesting, it is a wonderfully comic film. Some of the subtle details are the funniest - for example, Harold's knowing look at the camera after successfully scaring off his first arranged date. Wes Anderson has named this film as both one of his favourites and most influential, and it shows - if you find his films wonderful, you'll like this, and vice versa. 

On a closing note, I need this poster in my room and my life. To any loved ones reading... treat me?

These Days.

... Just because I can't get this song out my head today. Truly lovely.