‘Vintagey’ and the Anachronism

Okay. I was watching the 2010 film ‘Submarine’, and I was trying to work out when it was supposed to be set. Which I've noticed has become increasingly difficult to do nowadays. I can’t remember the last time there was a new fashion trend that wasn’t a revival of something else, and it’s more and more common for people’s interiors to be deliberately kitsch and oldy-worldy.

At first you only see them in a school~ and school doesn’t change much so I was still pretty clueless. They’re wearing duffel coats though so I’m either thinking it’s modern and a bit hipster or maybe the 50s. Anyway. I see them walk past a P reg car- so AHA it must be modern.

I Wikipedia it anyway. So it’s set in 1986 then?

Why put a P reg car in plain view, I don’t even drive and I know that’s a late 90s registration.

They make so much effort to tint the picture a little sepia and show the main character using a typewriter and Polaroid camera. Then they just go and put something on screen that just SCREAMS nineties and it totally ruins my suspended disbelief.

[P.S I watched ‘One Day’ last month and Sturgess in ‘1997’ drinks out of an Ikea mug I bought LAST YEAR- but to complain about that would just be pedantic.. right?]

Sometimes I wonder why filmmakers bother to set films which you wouldn’t class as a period drama in the past… it always seems so much effort to make them convincing, and often a narrative will work just as well set in 2011 as if it was set in 1986.

There’s a post on UltraCulture (good blog btw) vis a vis this attitude in Spielberg’s Super 8.

Are the noughties (we’re not in the noughties any more are we.. we’re in the teens? Or something… who knows) really that unattractive for us? People are forever extolling the virtues of the past, whether it be the 60s, 70s, 80s or even the 90s- all are seen as idyllic. My mother told me the other day that if she had a small child nowadays she would not feel as safe letting them out as she did with me and my younger siblings from 1992 onwards.

I don’t think it really is more dangerous today. We just hear about it more.

I don’t want to think that one day I’ll feel almost ashamed of growing up in the 90s/early 00s. How will I show my future children (lol) what life is like now when all the photos we take are put through ridiculous hipstamatic/instagram filters, and all the films I’ve seen recently that aren’t the most vapid of romantic comedies are set in the past, or even worse.. are just remakes of pre-existing films; and music is just samples and covers and rip-offs.

NOTHING IS ORIGINAL ANYMORE

You

Hey guys! Welcome to my fiftieth post! I'm being all pensive.
So yesterday I put up a poll on my blog’s facebook asking y’all what you wanted to see more of on here.

And it got me thinking- the most important person on this blog is actually YOU.
It’s weird to think that anyone would read the drivel I want to write about, but it seems more and more so that you actually do! Crazy!

And I don’t know much about you.. I know most of you are from the UK, use PCs and run Internet Explorer. But apart from that I am clueless!

So this is my plea to you to tell me who you are, you don’t need to include your name or anything, just tell me if you know me in the real world, or if you found me by googling ‘are Jedward gay?’ (Seriously that is one of the top things people google to get here), you can tell me you think I’m an idiot- I don’t care, just tell me what you want! I’m never quite sure what’s a hit and what’s a miss.

What do you want me to write about?
Do you like my interviews?
Do you want to know more about your faithful narrator?
What’s your favourite post I’ve ever done?
I’m willing to talk about most things. Srsly I can chat shit about all number of topics [n.b please please please don’t ask me to talk about sport.. I run out of things to say after ‘I was a sub for the third netball team at school… errr I have asthma okay I am like allergic to exercise’]

So basically GET IN TOUCH WITH ME!!! There are a number of ways you can do this:-
By liking my FACEBOOK and writing on the wall
By sending an EMAIL to longtimenodig@mail.com
Or just by commenting on this post after the jump (I don’t think a blogger account is necessary, so you can give me abuse anonymously if you so wish)

If I get any feedback whatsoever from this I will be over the moon! So get tapping away on those little keyboards my little Long Time No Diggers.

Scrimp With Me

Hey guys, last time I did a post about saving money y’all seemed to really like it. So I thought I’d do another one sharing more of my pennypinching know-how. 

1. FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE

I effing ADORE getting things on the cheap- and it’s even better when you can get them for FREE. I highly recommend that you become a fan of Women Freebies on facebook. From one month of following the links given on just this one website I have managed to get---- drumroll please:

A big bar of galaxy chocolate

Lots of wrinkle cream samples

A tin of spam

A facemask

A small vial of Tabasco sauce

Which is not bad! Some of the samples through the post take a little while to arrive, but seeing as it’s not costing you anything, it’d be rude to moan about it.

2. Magazines

It’s always worth checking what free gifts are on offer! This month’s Cosmo has a free pair of Eyelure false eyelashes, which I know retail in Boots for around £5, and Cosmo is only £3.50!

So not only do you get a slightly sexist bible of weird sex tips and TRUE LIFE STORIES- you also get to look lash-tastic! Hot!

Frankly, who wouldn't want to look like they have moths clinging to their eyelashes?

3. Get Bank Savvy

Are you in possession of a child bank account you’ve almost forgotten about?

If yes… STOP

Now is the time to remember it. Chances are that the interest you’re getting on it is an absolute pittance. So move that money betch!

But remember: it’s highly likely that the account will be under one of your parents names, but they can be signed over to you, so check it out!

Shop around for the best deal, and be sure of what you want.

An instant access savings account means you can get at your money in an emergency, but a fixed-term saver might mean you get better rates.

But be practical, you don’t want to be caught out!

4. Collect Vouchers

See, Katie Holmes doesn't even need to use them but she still does, because coupons are just so CELEBRITY

With my last box of hair dye (Garnier Ultra Colour in Ice Blonde- yes I’m not a natural blonde. Now get over it you horrible judgmental people) I got a coupon for money off Garnier roll-on deoderant! That’s pretty cool!

My top tip for voucher usage is to write down when they expire in a diary- then you’ll be reminded to use them before they run out.

I know using vouchers is usually the preserve of housewives and old women, but in this economic climate I am glad of all the 30p savings I can make.

As some crazy old broad once said- ‘watch the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves’.

Aces!

Dolly's People 1: Dessy the Furry

Today I’m going to be talking to Dessy, or Desmond- a teenage furry from Virginia U.S.A..

It probably goes without saying that this conversation is not for children’s eyes..

(p.s. For the uninitiated I have included links with definitions to some of the more specialist terminology)

Dolly: Do your friends and family know about your predilection for critter tail?

  

Dessy: Hm... I don't believe my family know the first thing about furries. At all. So no.

But most of my friends are well aware of my being an active member of the furry fandom.

Dolly: Did you get any bad reactions when you 'outed yourself'?

Dessy: Nothing worse than a bit of innocent teasing and harmless gests. We furries, especially in places like 4chan and YouTube, are the subject of some mirth.

Dolly: So tell me, is there any particular beast that really gets your engines going?

Dessy: I recently--and I do mean recently, after being indecisive for quite some time--decided to be a dragon. This means I'm a member of a subcategory of those furries who elect to have fursonas to represent themselves within the community that are called "scalies."

Dolly: So there are some of y'all that don't have one special animal they're into?

Dessy: Certainly. Furries are members of the fandom of anthropomorphic animals, and don't necessarily poke their noses into any sort of roleplay as actual animal characters. Not each furry has his or her own 'fursona'.

Dolly: Let’s get down to brass tacks. What sexual orientation would you consider yourself (in both furry and human relationships)

Dessy: Heh. I don't tend to hold a furry relationship distinct from a human relationship. My boyfriend Jared is both a furry and a human, as it were. As am I, but I would call myself bisexual, despite admittedly never having slept with a woman.

Dolly: So, you dig both boy and girl dragons?

Jared is a fox. 

Foxes seem to be the most common animal.

They're everywhere. It's frightening.

Dolly: Well, I suppose they are quite sexy. Well, for animals.

Dessy: Oh? ;P

Dolly: You’ve seen Disney’s Robin Hood. I would, and quite frankly- who wouldn’t?

Dessy: Oh, goodness, yes. A movie from my childhood. I wouldn't say it had much bearing on my becoming a furry, but I certainly loved that movie well.

And still do, I suppose

I have it downstairs on VHS.

Dolly: So are you into the whole team mascot-esque fursuit thing?

Or indeed.. scale suits?

Dessy: Heheh... Well. They're neat and whatnot, but I can't say I intend to wear one at any foreseeable time in the future, let alone purchase or make one. I'm fairly satisfied with my appearance in real life, and I doubt I would be satisfied with the appearance of a fursuit meant to look like my fursona.

Dolly: Well. As far as I’m concerned, when there’s one kink there’s often a whole tonne of others there too. What else turns you on?

Between you and me, I have a fetish called Vorarephilia.

And I have as long as I can remember.

Explaining it is always a bother.

(don’t worry guys, I am ALL OVER the google on this, I really wouldn't do it yourself if I was you- Ed.)

Dolly: Do you ever get off to nature films etc with the real animals? Or are you just into the anthro stuff?

Dessy: Nature films? That strikes me as silly. I can't help but laugh at the thought of someone giving a dull narration to something I consider porn.

Nah. I tend to stick with finer pieces of art.

I suppose.

Is it supposed to be at all awkward that we're talking about me masturbating?

And you intend to blog about this?

^^';

Yes. I am a dirty dirty girl.

Well, I hope y’all enjoyed today’s peek into an unconventional mind!

Dolly

xx

If you're fully intrigued and want to see more along this vein, this website has lotsa weird and wonderful animal dongs on show. Check out the forum for added creepiness.  

Faux-litical Activists

Since, I don’t know- about March last year a number of the people I know suddenly took up an interest in politics. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, it’s good to care, right?

But frankly some of y’all are taking it too damn far.

1. OMGZ NICK CLEGG IS SUCH A TR8OR INNIT

I know you think it’s hip and cool to adopt this view because Russell Howard says it a lot (bee tee dubs who else is bored stiff of him already?) but are any of you actually aware of how politics works?

Yes, it said in the Lib Dem manifesto that they planned on scrapping tuition fees, but as you can see here:

The Liberal Democrats DID NOT win. Not even close. They actually came third.

If our government just did everything on the Lib Dem manifesto it’d be undemocratic and essentially veto the votes of the majority of British people: ergo, we would live in a DICTATORSHIP.

Do you want that? No, I didn’t think so. So shut the hell up about Nick Clegg already.

2. I JUST VOTED FOR ***** AND SAID ******* TO AV

In 1872 the British government introduced the Secret Ballot Act. Before this they’d shout out if you had voted Tory or Whig straight after you wrote it down. They stopped doing this because people used to get beaten up for voting a certain way. Furthermore it’s just damn annoying so I’m pretty tempted to beat you up regardless of what you voted for. Capisce?

3. DAVID CAMERON IS THE DEVIL

Whatever your political inclination, it cannot be disputed that our prime minister has a nigh on impossible job. Yes, he’s enforced some pretty austere measures, but he’s not really done that badly has he? Anyway, I doubt any of us are really fit to judge him as I’m fairly certain that none of us have a job with even a percentile of the responsibility his has.

So give the man a break?

P.S you all should vote though, when it comes down to it. People died for your right to decide how the country is run.

Oh. This is pretty gloomy. But believe it or not I’m in an okay mood atm. I’ll write something cheerier next time.

Over and out,

Dollface.