My First Cara Box!

So I woke up a couple of days ago to find I'd received a package! I love receiving things in the mail, it's just so much fun! I have a penpal in Japan and we send each other a package every Christmas and I have friends in the US,  Europe & South America who I often exchange letters/cards with. So the idea of The Cara Box sounded right up my street. The Cara Box is a wonderful idea where you get matched up with two people, one person sends you a package and you send a package to the other person. Click Here to find out more or join next month's exchange!  I was matched up with Rebecca and Tara and we all began emailing each other and getting to know one another. I was sending a box to Tara and Rebecca was sending to me. The theme of the box was things from your region. 

When I got up to find my box I was so excited! 

Rebecca lives in London at the moment so all of my gifts were wrapped in tube maps, SUCH A GREAT IDEA. The moment I opened the box I was pretty sure I was going to love everything in it. I could tell a lot of thought and creativity had been put into it, even from just seeing the items wrapped so cutely and labeled with a little explanation on why she thought I'd like each gift.

Even my mum came to sit beside me while I opened each gift, it was like Christmas in May! I was so happy with each little gift because it was obvious Rebecca had really listened to what I'd told her in emails and she has such great taste! I adored everything that she sent.

I received a lovely notebook with pens (which Rebecca advised I use to help my blogging - great idea!), a London 2012 bookmark, a Cath Kidston mirror (which has gone straight into my handbag), cupcake cases and sugar decorations because I love baking and a bag of boiled sweets from a company who Rebecca had worked in the factory of - they are nearly gone! My brother and I LOVE them. Oh and finally three nail polishes which I adore, I painted my nails in the blue colour on the evening because it was so cool. I also received a lovely card of the London skyline. 

Overall I was so impressed with my Cara Box because I'd been matched with such a great person. So, thank you so much Rebecca! 

I was creating a box for Tara and I have to say it was so incredibly hard to find items associated with my city. Even though it's the second city of England, it's hard to find touristy type items and hardly anything is made in Birmingham anymore! However I tried my best and I hope she likes it.

These are a few of my favourite films! Part 1

My favourite films are like my children, whenever anyone asks me what my favourite film is I can never answer them. It's like asking a mother what her favourite child is! When Nicolas Cage was asked in a recent interview he answered that it changes daily, and he's right. It changes daily, it falls into categories too. I cannot rank my favourite action films against my favourite dramas because I like them for different reasons and to pit them against each other is mean. I will not limit myself! There are films I love for my emotional connection to them, there are films I love for their aesthetics, there are films that blow me away with their scripts. I have got-to films for when I'm sad, when I need a laugh, films to share with others and films I LOVE but will never watch again. See! How on earth do you expect me to restrict it to just ONE film and why would you want to? 

However I am going to share a few of my favourite films I would state if someone put a gun to my cat and threatened to shoot her gorgeous being if I refused to answer. Like I mentioned, tomorrow it might be completely different but whatever. It can also be a collection of films I think are wonderful but definitely not an exhaustive list and they are in no particular order. 

COME BACK TO THE FIVE & DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN

I adore this film. I have a penchant for films with several female leads, their stories and interactions intrigue and fascinate me. This film is all female apart from one character who appears in flashback so it already ticked that box. I know it comes across as sexist but we so rarely in the film industry see STRONG and VARIED female characters that when they appear I get overexcited! Granted I adore male lead driven films too, Stand By Me has a very special place in my heart but female ensemble casts just...get me. The characters are all different and yet all written really well. The film is based on a play and describes the reunion of a James Dean fan club to honour the 20th anniversary of his death. Watching the film it is obvious it was a play beforehand because the director Robert Altman has kept a lot of the feel and intimacy of a play. It all pretty much happens in the 5&Dime shop with flashbacks between the present and not long after the death of James Dean as the fan club struggled to cope with the death of their hero. The cinematography is gorgeous and mirrors are used to wonderful effect throughout the film. In essence though it's a film based around a group of friends reuniting. It doesn't need set changes, flashy effects or weird camera shots because the characters are strong enough to move the action along. The cast is wonderful, it has three of my favourite actresses in Cher, Karen Black & Sandy Dennis. They are all strong, self assured actresses and could teach you a thing or two! You know when you daydream about being a famous actress and what roles you'd love to play? No? Just me? Oh okay, well I do that and I always think I'd love to play Sandy Dennis' character in the film. The film also has one of the most powerful endings I've ever seen. It's so simplistic yet incredibly effective. 

SECRETARY

Again I love this film for many, many reasons. Maggie Gyllenhaal is one of my favourite actresses because you can tell she gives so much of herself in a role and I really admire the films she chooses to be involved in. Her performance in this film just won me over straight away, I class myself as a feminist and usually this film would be a film I would have a problem with considering its content but SHE made me overlook that and realise that every woman has the right to do what's best for her. (the last shot really drives this home) So the premise of the film is that of a young girl named Lee Holloway who becomes a secretary after a spell in a psychiatric hospital. She begins an unconventional relationship with her boss and it causes her and her boss to re access their lives and desires. The main hook of Secretary is how it deals with the tricky subjects of both mental illness and S&M. Usually films that tackle sexuality are gratuitous and are aiming to target the high school audience however what I like about Secretary is how it explores the idea that love has many different faces and how as a society we are so used to pigeonholing people. You may still leave the film  disagreeing with the idea of S&M but it's definitely opened your eyes. One of my favourite types of love stories are 'fucked up love stories'...as I rather eloquently call them. What I mean by that is I adore love stories that are not the corny ones written from a cardboard cut out of a rom com from the 90s. So Secretary fits my need for 'unusual yet lovely love stories'. 

THE WRESTLER

I'm a HUGE fan of wrestling. I'm the girl that religiously watches it every week and goes to the shows whenever she can. It's a fun hobby I share with my two brothers and it's our weird form of family bonding! It's just so exciting keeping up with the wrestling world, it's like a soap opera with physical contact! I got insanely happy last night when a WWE referee replied to my tweet on twitter, I am that sad when it comes to wrestling. So this film is a must for wrestling fans (obviously) but you needn't be a wrestling fan to enjoy it. It tells the story of a wrestler who was at his height about fifteen years ago and yet he's still wrestling despite his battered body. The film means so much to me because this is the life many 80s/ early 90s wrestlers ended up living, guys like Jake Roberts ended up with no family, a crippled body and addiction problems. Mickey Rourke plays the role wonderfully, he breaks my heart completely as a wrestler who is so consumed by his passion he refuses to give up, even if it means losing out on love and a relationship with his daughter. The role was originally given to Nicolas Cage and MAN, I wish I could have seen that. As you will soon discover I have a huge obsession with Nicolas Cage but that's another blogpost. Yet as much as I'd love to see that I think Mickey does so well. The wrestling scenes are done incredibly well with the finale being filmed at a ROH set, and other real life wrestlers popping up here and there. 

PARIS,TEXAS

This is an example of a film that took my breath away the first time I saw it. It reinforced the reason I love film so much, it's just so powerful. It's beautifully shot, the actors are perfect and it has one of my favourite scenes of all time within it. Harry Dean Stanton is the lead character who plays a man who is found wondering in the desert and his journey in reconnecting with his son and finding his wife. Harry is a great actor, he's not a name you'd recognise but you'd know his face for sure. He's a guy who always plays a supporting role but yet steals the show. Her however he plays the lead and does it so well. He's an actor who realises that sometimes less is more and despite holding back for the most time he still gives a great performance.

THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES

Barbra Streisand is one of my queens. One of the women who inspires me and whose music and films will always mean so much to me. When I'm at my lowest she always keeps me going. She inspires me as a female in the film making industry because she's one of the few famous female directors, she's had a successful film and music career for over 40 years and is a woman who stands up for herself. In this film she tackles a topic that has haunted her for years, beauty. She's always been haunted her looks, that's another reason why I feel so close to her. She struggles with how she looks, especially with her nose. I too have nose issues, I'm always being reminded I have a big nose and I now think 'so what? so does Barbra Streisand and she's ten times cooler than anyone who takes the piss out of me will ever be'. So I really respect her for tackling this role. The story tells of a lady who is conventionally beautiful (although to me she is always stunning) who enters a platonic marriage with a university lecturer (played by Jeff Bridges who is yummy) because he believes that a love based on sexual attraction will never last. Eventually in the good ole fashioned way they end up falling in love, sex and all and I start crying because it's all so beautiful. 

Stay tuned for Part 2! 

My X Files Obsession

I'n the type of girl who lives about three decades behind everyone else. I'm only just, in 2013 getting into The X Files. Granted when it first came out I was 3 so I couldn't have caught it when it was first onscreens but it's took me a while to realise the wonders of two FBI agents trying to figure out the weird things within the X Files. Now I've found it I am ridiculously in lust, love and all things in between. SO this blog post will most likely turn into a rambling of the many, many ways I love it.

First things first, look at them, LOOK AT THEM. Who wouldn't want to watch the simmering sexual tension between two gorgeous people as they whisper sweet nothings such as 'You're the only one I can trust' to each other? Yes I'm shallow but MAN it's been a long time since sexual tension has been written and consistently carried over seasons so well.

Second of all DANA SCULLY. Dana Scully is the type of character I want any future daughter of mine to watch and be inspired by. She's amazing. It's so nice to see a female character written so well, the only other person who does this so well is Joss Whedon. She's a doctor who now works for the FBI. She performs autopsies like nobody's business and doesn't take any crap. She's (SPOILER ALERT) battled cancer, the loss of her sister AND being abducted and I've only half way through season five. (SPOILERS OVER). It's refreshing seeing a female that is allowed to be intelligent, scientifically based and have her sexuality defined through other avenues. She is incredibly sexy but it's because she's so confident in who she is. She's not defined in relation to the male character. She's self assured, powerful and dedicated to her job. She is the ying to Mulder's yang. She's the logic to Mulder's crazy ideas. Sometimes it does come across that she's mre of a secondary character to Mulder but I don't think that's because she's female. I think that's because the X Files is Mulder's baby and his belief that 'the truth is out is there' is HIS belief. Well, she does believe the truth is out there too but her truth is completely different to his.

So, MULDER, the sexual god of the alien world. I never got why people found Mulder attractive until season 4 and then it just HIT me. It will get you eventually! He is charming and ridiculously dedicated to his 'cause'. It's nice to see someone who is really in love with their job and truly believes in something. When he's serious, it's scary. The conspiracy episodes how his serious, brooding sides so well while the other episodes also show his lighthearted nature. He always has a dry laugh to throw into some ridiculous situation. It's one of the reasons the show can get around having evil dolls killing people, it is incredibly serious when it needs to be and in others everything is done with a little tongue in cheek.

The show is so incredibly written it means you would believe anything. As each season progresses, the plots slowly get more ...ridiculous (for want of a better word) and yet you never consider stopping watching because it's so compelling. Even in the 'monster of the week' episodes I still cannot stop watching because the tension is built so wonderfully. Sometimes I do ask myself how Dana can still be so...pessimistic towards Mulder's theories when she's seen so much but then the wonderful balance that makes up the show wouldn't be able to carry on. Even when we finally think we have a hold on something another episode comes along and changes the direction. I also find it interesting how Dana faces both her faith (she wears a cross necklace) and her science compete/live side by side.

It also scares the fuck out of me. There's been two episodes in particular when it has really unnerved me. Usually when this happens I never watch the film/tv show but with the X Files of course I had to carry on watching.It's even got me reading books on aliens, ghosts and other unexplained phenomena. It gets hold of you and doesn't let go!!!

So run along and watch The X Files. Do it, NOW.

I'm a Tom Waits baby

So, as you can see the name of my blog is 'Well My Angels May Leave Too' and I figured I'd explain it. There's a gorgeous Tom Waits song called 'Please Call Me Baby'.You may recognise it from the beginning of the Edward Norton film 'Keeping the Faith' (that film satisfies so many priest fantasies). If not, here's a video.

I love this song, it's just wonderful. I love Tom Waits, he is such a great singer and the lyrics just slay me. In this one particular song it has one of my favourite lyrics. 'If I exorcise my devils, well my angels may leave too.'

I just love this lyric, it means so much to me. It's about accepting the good with the bad and all that makes up who you are. We are all so flawed but it's about realising that's okay. There's a great quote by Sam Keen that goes

“Love isn't finding a perfect person. It's seeing an imperfect person perfectly.” 

We're all imperfect and despite striving for perfection, we'll never obtain it. We'll always find something else to worry about. It's just wasting time that we could spend on something worthwhile. I have to accept the things I hate because they make up the person that I am.

A Little Goes a Long Way

Today I received this email

and for once I actually decided to do something. I'm A HUGE supporter of  MIND because they had a huge part in getting my life back on track. They play an active role in society giving support to those most in need. In my city they provide 5 centres where 'service - users' can do groups including crafts, relaxation, cooking etc as a way of getting back into society and meeting people in the same circumstances. I'm also involved with the charities TimetoChange & Rethink and volunteer as a champion for both. They both work at raising awareness of mental health and reducing prejudice. It's the 21st century and yet people are still being discriminated against because of an illness. I've experienced it myself on many occasions and I'm sure many others have too. That's why I felt compelled to email my MP when I received the above email. Having FIVE HOURS in the Houses of Commons to discuss mental illness is AMAZING and IMPORTANT. I'm sure my one little email won't mean much but I needed to try. This is an important topic for me and it's great it's being discussed in Parliament but we NEED lots of MPs there. 

I'm not expecting a reply or expecting him to turn up but I want to make a declaration that every little counts. Every small thing is important and I would love if more people felt they had power.