Harry Potter Merch - The Good, The Bad and...The Scary.

I am an unashamed Fangirl. You guys already know this. I love Slytherin with a fiery passion. The t-shirt I'm modelling above came from the ever so wonderful EVIETEES on Etsy. It's so geeky that you have to look twice to realise it's a Harry Potter-inspired t-shirt and only real fans tend to get it. I've also been duelled at twice now while wearing this, by complete strangers, making it extra awesome.

Sadly though, not all the Harry Potter merchandise out there is good. Oh no. No siree. OK, so it's not bad on the same level as some of the Twilight stuff available (Edward Cullen pants? No thanks) but it's still blog-worthy. Here's what I found while browsing the Interwebs last night:

EXHIBIT A) For fans who need to improve on their spell-work.

Look closely...what's wrong with this t-shirt? Other than the fact that it obviously should say "Team Dark Lord" in order to be properly respectful? If you can't see it, see me later for detention.

EXHIBIT B) For fans who like their men hairy

I found this beauty on eBay. Apparently, it's an officially licensed, full-head latex item. I think it's just a bit wrong. And probably very hot to wear. Mmmmm, sweaty. I can however see it being used during armed robberies.

EXHIBIT C) For fans who...actually, I have no words.

Another eBay find! This is by far the scariest of all the things I found. I mean in spite of his endearing qualities, Dobby isn't exactly cute, is he? Plus, what would the rest of the outfit be? Would you be naked with but a sheet covering your modesty, combined with dirty old socks? I shudder to think. However, the naughty part of me can see the fun of buying this for your younger siblings and watching them scare their little friends at fancy dress parties or Hallowe'en :)

Stuck at a cross roads

I am 30 years old.

I am unemployed.

I am without ambition or motivation.

I do not own a house or flat and am currently unable to pay the rent myself on the beautiful flat I live in.

I am not engaged, married, nor do I have any children.

I maintain a degree of sanity thanks to the medication I take daily.

I do not have a relationship with my own brother.

I should not be allowed control over my own finances.

I am addicted to cigarettes.

I am rarely comfortable in my own skin, in spite of my ability to show off.

I was, and always will be, a self-harmer in one form or another.

I crave validation to a level which cannot be healthy.

I will never be able to outrun some of my demons, nor come to terms with them.

I feel guilty about all of the above, sometimes often, sometimes rarely, but still, without end. I usually keep the feelings deep, scarcely even acknowledging them to myself. Sometimes they spill over.

This post was brought to you by the self-doubting, self-loathing, unattractive Angry Head Girl.

Pride T minus 1!

I'm sitting here listening to Queen Adreena's cover of Jolene. Why, you ask? Because I'm getting ready for tonight's ABANDONED - Pre-Pride Parrrrrrrrrty! I think the song is suitably camp AND rock/alternative enough to get away with tonight - and besides, it's been requested by a good friend on mine :)

This weekend bodes pretty well actually. The fun starts this evening when our guests arrive for the Pride weekend, off down to ABANDONED for some serious dancing and drinking funtimes, and then tomorrow - the Pride extravaganza itself! I still haven't finished my outfit but it shouldn't take much more work, hopefully.

Simply can't wait!

*bounce*

Sonisphere 2010 - A Fucking EPIC Adventure!

Due to extreme good fortune, I ended up getting some guestlist passes for Sonisphere this year and the blog post that follows relates the tale of our adventures in Knebworth!

The first part of the adventure can be condensed into the following:

Myself and John get train to London - Meet Phil at St Pancras - Get train to Stevenage - Get shuttle bus to Sonisphere - Get stuck outside for 13 hours due to our friends being late and the wankers at the box-office not letting us have our passes without them - Spend night outside under the SONISPHERE sign in the freezing cold.

HOWEVER, once all the bullshit had been sorted out, we made our way into the campsite which was rapidly filling up on Friday morning, and very, very luckily for us, were directed to the top on the hill where we found a most excellent campsite and saved space for friends. Let the epicness commence!

Once again, I think it's easier to bullet point the best bits, because to write out the whole account would be very time-consuming and not make for the best read ever ;)

• Camping right near the Arena entrance was in fact fabulous. We were 5 mins from the stages, right next to the posh loos and the best food places. It also meant we could laugh at all the people who spent several hours queuing for the showers IN THE RAIN!
• Gary Numan is still a Rock God.
• Goths in hot weather are reasonably hilarious. Especially when their white face paint starts to run ;)
• The keyboardist from Rammstein may in fact be the doctor from The Human Centipede.
• Watching Lacuna Coil with a nice drink and a Tunnocks Tea-Cake? Actually pretty awesome.
• Zebras on stilts - the highlight of Friday. Having an 10 foot tall Zebra run towards you through the crowd shouting "CHLOE!!" to give you a massive hug is pretty special! Our friends performing for Bizarre were totally brilliant and if you didn't catch their shows in the Bohemia tent, you missed out!
• Dancing your socks off to Pendulum while wearing your pyjamas is an experience you will never, ever forget. Say what you like about them, they FUCKING RULE and they more than deserved their space on the main stage on Sunday. So loud I could feel it in my chest!
• Papa Roach were rather daft fun, and no mistake. I still can't take them very seriously but their live performance was good and had has dancing away like teenagers. "Last Resort" was by far the best though and the right one to close with!
• Camping with the nicest people ever. Honestly couldn't have asked for a better bunch - Phil and I were with John and later in the day my friend Mackie showed up with his two friends Carys and Rob and finally we were joined by little Stef. I honestly haven't had so much fun and laughed so hard in such a long time.
• Generally, the festival itself was incredible. Really great staff, great line-up, great site. Plenty of Police but not intrusively so, plenty of Security but not arsey ones, free shuttle buses to and from the town, good toilets! I'd happily go again if the line-up tempted me!
• Going backstage with borrowed Artist passes was just A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I have so few words to describe it. PENDULUM and BACKSTAGE TOILETS are all I can really say! I stole a loo-roll from one of them. Yes, I am that mischievous.

Lessons I Learned At Sonisphere 2010

1. It is without doubt the best festival, ever. For more on why see my next post.
2. It is entirely possible to get suntanned and freckly knees through completely opaque tights.
3. If you dress as a Slytherin, you will get duelled at by random, awesome, geeky strangers.
4. A large number of boys and men who are metallers are in fact, in my opinion, quite unattractive. Which is bizarre, because the ones I know personally aren't at all. Equally bizarre that most of the women who are into metal are disproportionately attractive.
5. Having said that, the alternative community is one the nicest, warmest, kindest, most generous and fabulous bunch. To be fair, this isn't exactly a lesson I learned at Sonisphere, more a reinforcement of this fact and a bit of a surprise considering the sheer volume of numbers at this festival. Unparalleled awesomeness.
6. In spite of said volume of numbers, you will bump into people you haven't seen in years.
7. People who bring flags into the arena and then position themselves anywhere in front of the stage or the screens should be kneecapped. Inconsiderate little fucktards.
8. Backstage passes are made of pure, concentrated, ultimate WIN.
9. Gin and cigarettes for breakfast is not only acceptable at a festival, it is practically compulsory.
10. Just because a band is older and has made more albums than another does not automatically make them better. Yes, Iron Maiden and Slayer, I'm talking to you.