John Lewis capture the beauty of life

Campaign title:
Never Knowingly Undersold
Copywriters
Ben Tollett, Emer Stamp, Steve Wioland and Matt Woolner
Art directors
Ben Tollett, Emer Stamp, Steve Wioland and Matt Woolner
Planner
David Golding
Production company:
Blink
Director
Dougal Wilson
Editor
Joe Guest

Holographic Coke!

All I know is this looks cool.

The embarrassing story of the super glue.

Do you have that thing where if something embarrassing happens to you, you need to tell everyone? Yes? Me too.

I was feeling chuffed with myself as I had remembered to buy super glue to fix a few things broken around the house. Earlier in the night I had glued a smashed bottle stopper back together (a resin gift from a wedding). Putting the lid back on the superglue I decided to read the instructions to see how long it would take to set - apparently I was supposed to wash the nozzle with nail varnish remover - too late.

Anyway here comes the embarrassing bit: Later, about to go to bed, I realised that I had forgotten to glue the nose back on my Care Bear.

My Care Bear Funshine is my favourite childhood teddy and she has had some tough times recently. First she got mauled by a dog who bit off her plastic heart nose. My Aunty glued it back on. Then I left her on the window sill where she went moldy. When I washed her her nose fell off again.

Anyway, so I tried to open the super glue - of course I had managed to glue the nozzle closed. So I tried taking off the nozzle and smearing superglue on Funshine's nose. Unfortunately I also managed to smear it on my fingers - suddenly my fingers were also stuck together - and stuck to Funshine's plastic nose. I pulled my fingers apart quickly and using my other hand I managed to pull off Funshine's nose - now I had superglue on all my fingers! And it dried a hard white crust that would NOT come off. My boyfriend googled "How to get super glue off fingers" and found the answer was nail varnish remover. So I tried rubbing it with nail varnish - nothing - then soaking my fingers in the solution - nothing. In the end I had to use a nail file and file it off my fingers! It took me 20 mins and I can, 2 days later, still feel it in the lines of my finger prints.

And that, my friends, is the embarrassing story of the superglue.

How to play the DIY shop game

When I was little my even littler sister and I used to spend a lot of time traipsing around DIY shops, garden centers and furniture warehouses following our parents. Rather than get bored we made up games which could only be played in these situations. In DIY stores we played the Millionaire mansion game. We were both millionaires kitting out our amazing homes. We would first decide how many bedrooms and bathrooms we would have in our mansion and then we had to buy everything - from doors, to floor tiles, to baths, to lamps. We would keep a rough track on the amount we had spent as we walked around B&Q putting things in our imaginary giant trolleys.

I still like to play this game - what would I buy for my house if money were no object (maybe some day someone will give me a job where I can actually do this!).

Here is what I would put in my millionaire's mansion:

Hallway

I would have a massive mirror in my hallway and keep it light and bright - a really nice welcoming place with:

Squirrel and Dove wallpaper - http://www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk/products/sanderson/squirrel-dove/73862


Open plan kitchen and living space (with massive windows)

Virgo Bookshelf by Libertys London: http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty/Furniture/Virgo-Steel-Bookshelf,--Driade/22949


Squint Simpson couch: from £4400. http://www.squintlimited.com/furniture/bespoke/upholstery/sofas/4/

and
Squinet Wing chair: £2800.


CONCETTA china set by Habitat: http://www.habitat.co.uk
cup- £8


Rag Rug Libertys.
http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty/Rugs-and-Carpets/Moroccan-Rag-Rug,--Liberty-Oriental-Carpets/35066


Downstairs bathroom

This would be a bathroom to impress and also, perhaps to entertain:

The new Seaside from Italian Spa maestros Teuco.


Neo wallpaper - wallpaperdirect.co.uk


Utility room:
SUch a small space needs to be light and uncluttered and clean - but something fun would go well here:

lovebirds vinyl - wallpaperdirect.co.uk


Bedrooms.

There are two bedrooms in my mansion and also a study. Modest? Yes, but they'd be amazing with en-suit mini-bathrooms.

Brodsworth bed by http://www.andsotobed.co.uk


The Churchill http://www.andsotobed.co.uk


Huge built in wardrobes by IKEA: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/bedroom/10449/

Bedroom Garland shade by Habitat: http://www.habitat.co.uk
£19.00

6 ft. Tall Flower Blossom Room Divider
$129.00 at http://www.orientalfurniture.com


Trunk with Cranes Design
$399.00 at 'Orientalfurniture.com


Estelle Wallpaper - www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk


Bathroom

Roxburgh http://www.vandabaths.com/uk/bath.php?b=roxburgh


Filigrain Sky drop Pendant by Libertys.
http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty/Furniture/Virgo-Steel-Bookshelf,--Driade/22949


Study

Fairytales grey: wallpaperdirect.com



Garden

http://www.atlamaison.com/ Giant Buddah - to calm me and make me feel at one with the world.

Something amazing is happening in British Politics

Last week something amazing and historic happened in Britain. No I'm not talking about the volcano, I'm talking about the historic television debate that gave voters the best opportunity to really compare Party leaders that they have ever had. And what happened? A discounted party, a party who haven't ever held power, who were only formed in the 80's, who's leader was mocked as 'unrecognizable' only a few months ago, has emerged as the favourite. Apparently the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, is now as popular as Churchill was before he got elected. Imagine that. At a time when the British people have wrinkled up their noses in disgust at all the expense scandals in Whitehall, this is truly amazing.

And I have been thinking. It really is the right time for the Liberal Democrats. The generation who's first politicalisation was the introduction of tuition fees by Labour, opposed by the Liberals, is now old enough to have had some life experiences, to break free of the constrains of their parents opinions and influences and really think about who they want to vote for. That's my generation. Among my peers the Liberals were always popular. And now Clegg is targeting their votes even more - just as Obama in the US targeted young voters. When I saw obama taking office I knew that Gordon wasn't going to cut the mustard any more - he was old and boring compared to the young-looking President. And Cameron looked like a poor substitute - a privately educated priviledges Tory boy. What we needed was Clegg. Calm, 'let's work together' Clegg.

And now there's a little Twitter campaign too. Of course there is. This is the video they are sending around:

Why Eddie Izzard Supports the Labour Party

Election fever is well and truly here and I feel like I am far more concerned than in the last general Election. The stakes are higher and the choices are bigger. I grew up as a Labour party supporter. I went on rallies and demos, knocked on doors, folded leaflets and canvassed opinion all for the Labour Party. I even learnt songs about politicians as if they were nursery rhymes - "He's rich, he's slime, he's Michael Heseltine, Kick him outtt, kick him outttt". But now it feels less clear. I don't like Gordon Brown and Labour have made stupid mistakes. The country is not in great shape but unlike the Tories, I wouldn't say it was broken. And I couldn't vote Tory...I just couldn't. My mother would turn in her grave. But one thing is clear. I like Eddie Izzard. I love Eddie. If he were to run as an MP I would vote for him. OMG! I just had a great thought - imagine if Eddie ran against Boris for Mayor of London? OMG! That would be the best thing ever. Everyone would be interested - everyone would watch the parliamentary debates. It would be immense! And Eddie would win!

So with that in mind here is Eddie Izzard in his 'making of a Party Political Broadcast" video. Love it:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/04/15/comic-eddie-izzard-hails-brilliant-britain-in-labour-party-video-watch-it-here-115875-22187849/

Silly cat video - oohh hahahha soooo funny

Darwin deez - radar detector

Cute video with cute little creative ideas and some weird hair and dancing. Enjoy.

Proud of Britney?

Yes I am proud of Britney Spears for allowing unairbrushed pictures to appear alongside airbrushed ones. Brave and inspirational.






I am fed up of looking at the skin of celebrities - all glowing golden and flawless and then looking at my own skin complete with stretchmarks, mottled bits, veins, lines and pores and feeling depressed. But I am not the strange one. That's what women really look like. That is also why I have embraced the communal changing rooms of the gym. It is, as my friend recently pointed out to me, the only time women can really see other women's bodies - real ones. When I first joined the gym I was shocked to see women changing out of their clothes in front of me - right down to their birthday suits. I would shyly hide under a towel or turn away. I saw women with strange rashes, women with scars, women with dimpled fatty thighs and then I saw myself in the way that I really should have seen myself - as pretty ok. My body is actually pretty good. Now I shun the tiny changing room in the corner and change in my own time in front of everyone. And, when I have children, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna bring them to the gym so they too can see women's bodies as they really are, not as they are in magazines.

If celebs moved to Oklahoma

I have nothing against Oklahoma - I've never been there - but this is pretty funny. Take a look on this link:

http://www.everyoneforever.com/content/2009-04-28/if_celebs_moved_to_oklahoma/

...and see celebs as they could have been.

Emotional short by Spike Jonze

Watch Spike Jonze's new short film - a love story between two robots. It's really beautiful, and I love the way it's set up too.

http://www.imheremovie.com/#

Sim City nostalgia

When I was in school my Godfather Paul worked for apple. So he had the coolest computers I'd ever seen. In my house we had a BBC computer. This is what it looked like:



My Godfather used to bring his black and white laptops with him and let me play with the drawing programmes on it. Later he also let me play the very early versions of Maxis's Sim City. I was amazed. Then, for my birthday one year he actually gave me my very own colour Mac desktop computer and a little computer desk to go with it. The first thing I did was to get Sim City 2000. Paul and I called each other with tips and tricks. I love to cheat. Over the years I moved up to Sim City 3000 and then recently got Sim City 4 which I hated. I had forgotten what Sim City 2000 actually looked like - so when I stumbled across this youtube clip it really took me back - the music - the annoying pipe flow problems.



Sim City 3000 was a lot slicker but as far as I remember didn't have the brilliant 'fixer' games of Sim City 2000. I loved getting a city with lots of derelict buildings and turning it around or fighting fires in a town with no fire stations. And what happened to the space age buildings? Those huge things from Sim City 2000. Loved those.



Now I have Sim City Societies or something and it's shit. SHIT! What happened???? It's just like the Sims. So much better in 2.

Oh and aren't our generation always harping on about what computers were like when they were young? Suppose we don't have a world war to harp on about.

Will the real Lady GaGa please stand up?

An enterprising guy called Veik has recreated all of Lady gaga's most gaga outfits for Barbie. Check out his photo stream on Flickr. They rock! Here's a little selection for you to feast your eyes on. Again props to Madam Lamb. Love your blog.






http://www.flickr.com/photos/veik11/

re-art-ified

I won't lie to you now, I stole this video from Madam Lamb's blog coz I loved it so much. Only problem is the video is better than the song. Without further ado I give you "hold your horses's new video for "70 million".

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

Pixel power!!

Seedwatch 2010

Last year my Creative partner Liz and I got serious gardening fever. This year she has again got the seeds planted and is good to go.
I however have been a wimp - while the weather is cold I don't even open the door to my balcony! I have brought in a few choice precious plants for the winter and the rest have to fend for themselves.

Boris (named after London mayor Boris Johnson) the crazy ivy plant has taken over a whole corner of my flat. I never water him. How he survives is beyond me. He has lived with Fiance and I for 4 years now. He really is my baby.

Manwell the mini orange tree ( a gift from my friends Liz and James) spent a lot of last year suffering from a serious case of red spider mite. He required 4 or 5 far too generous doses of chemical pest killer (the spray says only use 2x at most) and a spell out in the snow before he finally shook off his unwanted guests. He is now back in the warm and has burst back to life with a beautiful crop of mini oranges which I won't be eating because after that much chemical spray they are probably poisonous.

Florence the white flowery tree thing (so you might have guessed I'm not big on knowing the correct names of plants) is doing well. She is the latest edition to my front room nursery - a gift from my lovely friend Laura. She requires a lot of watering but then I should have guessed - she looks high maintenance.

Outside on the balcony we have a miniature rose - (a gift from my gorgeous friend Hollie)- Rosalind - after the Shakespearean character from As you Like it. Rosalind was very ill last spring. She was out on the balcony and developed a serious case of black and green fly. After research I found you could kill these pesky quick-breeding creatures with a fairy liquid mixture. She required at least 8 treatments and careful monitoring. Most of her leaves fell off before the battle was won. Maybe it was the lack of places fro the greenfly to go that finally did the trick. She has however come back to life and put in a magnificent effort with her re-growth so props to Rosalind. She's a survivor. I must remember to bring her back inside before the warm weather kicks in.

Bailey the Bay tree has done nothing. NOTHING! Since I had him last summer. He is very small and grew from my Dad's humungous Bay tree. Bay trees are worth a lot of money. Bailey isn't because he's too small and he's obviously home sick since he refuses to grow. Maybe I'll feed him some baby bio...

Then after that we have my climbing passion flower. I had three originally - cut offs from dad again. One has done pretty well. I am very surprised since she survived the snow and all the freezing weather. She looks so delicate and tropical it really is a miracle. She doesn't have a name yet. Probably because I was sure she would die. But maybe I could call her Patricia.

So the plan for this year? Chillies and more tomatoes - like last year. And I will be looking for hardy plants that can survive droughts.

apps wonderful apps, cold jelly and custard....no actually just apps

In recent weeks I have been in app central. I got my first iPhone and downloaded like mad. I also have some expert advisers on hand to make sure I pick the best ones. Here is my top 10 pick (and my handy advisers' picks) for your app-enjoyment. Appsolutely Fabulous!

Toobz - Free or 59p- As recommended by me. This is a fun game! Or is it that I just have nostalgia for the Pipe dream game I played for hours on end on my very old Apple Mac? Race against the clock to build a network of pipes before the tap is turned on.


Eat it Now - Free - This nifty app lists all your local deliveries so you can order from the comfort of your sofa - no need to keep that drawer of takeaway menus that come through the door any more! Fill it with old batteries instead.


Sccope to save - £1.19 Check you're getting the bestest bargains on every purchase - be it TVs or tea - you can see where to get it cheapest and if the price has gone down recently. Power to the people!



Tuneinradio - £1.19 - lists every radio station you could ever desire so you can just click and listen. You can also bookmark your favourites. Nifty.



2Do - Free or £3.99 for the full version - If you like writing lists (and I most obviously do) you'll love this app - note down all your to do's for the day and enjoy ticking them off - you can synch it with your calendars and even create alarms. Nice for the chronically unorganized. Nice for the organized obsessive. Plus it has won a bunch of awards for design and usability.



Vouchercloud - free - actually when you write free you should actually write the amount of money this app has managed to save you after a month - or a year! Fancy a meal? It finds you vouchers for local restaurants, fancy going shopping - save 20% off a boutique. Ahh so good. What's not a good idea however is to merely eat somewhere because there is a voucher on voucher cloud. Fiance and I did this on sat night and had one of the worst meals on record in Auberge. Note Auberge is not a good chain. Stick to Pizza Express or Strada.



Skype - free - this is so obvious - get all your friends on it and when you have wifi access you can all call each other or message for free. FOR FREE!



Whatsapp - 59p - Another freebee. Get all your mates on it and you can message eachother for free no matter what country you are in. WOoohooo! Chat all day for all I care!



Sleep Cycle - 59p very interesting concept - get this app then leave your iPhone on your bed all night and it uses motion sensor to monitor your movements to tell when you are in light sleep. It then wakes you up when at the right time so that you feel refreshed. Doesn't however work if you have an annoyingly fidgety Fiance in bed with you as I have found out. maybe better if you're single.



Plants vs zombies - £1.79 - This game has been given a full five star rating by people who've bought it and I LOVE the desktop version. Plant plants strategically to fend off the zombie invasion and avoid getting your brains eaten. Mmmmm brainsssss. So addictive that I played it for 4 hours straight and gave myself backache.

iPhone musical genius