The Thoughts and Happenings of Miss Lauren Cooke

Antiques

2008-04-11T05:17:00.001-07:00

OK, I have relaunched my budding antique business, as I have a reasonable amount of knowledge and need to raise a little cash. Never averse to being an entrepreneur!

So, it's the old turn £5 into £100 again... been done once when I was little and now about to be done more.

My eBay account is:
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/thneedtrader/
go have a look, see if there is anything you fancy. Not many antiques up at the moment, but some nice little Alfred Meakin pieces and there will be more to come.

If you want to know the origin of the name "thneedtrader" you clearly haven't read Doctor Seuss - http://www.seussville.com/

4 pieces of my art

2008-02-12T05:50:00.000-08:00

Go to this site

2008-01-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.cremeegg.co.uk

Watch It!!

2008-01-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

Vodafone Cartwheel advert

I saw this when I was at BBH, the day it was released. I loved it then and I loved it now.

Watch It!

Books and Words

2008-01-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

The Christmas holidays are always a chance to catch up on some books I've been meaning to read, and to read some books I thought I'd hate. They are also a great time to play scrabble on facebook (and before you declare me sad, I got the word oedipean the other day, and in the world of scrabble that makes me cooooool) and with the family. In fact, boardgames of any description (Capitalist mother slaghtering me at monopoly because she always lost as a kid, and hysterical father trying to explain just "who's in the bag") dominate at christmas, and I'm brave enough to admit to LOVING them. Hehe. So I thought that perhaps I ought to do a little book review of some of my favourite books of all time - just for fun really! One a day for a week is my aim!

The books are in no particular order!

Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

I'm young. I've seen lots of my world and I'd never go so far as to say I'm unexperienced. I put concious effort into making myself see more, do more and feel more than I have before. And this book did just that. It made me cry - nay, it made me sob. Its a heartwrenching book of redemption and regret, painting a picture of torn-apart Afganistan, bloody horror and all.

It broke my heart. For a few days after reading it I had an aching feeling deep inside me, and was on the brink of tears. Never, I repeat, never, has a book upset me so deeply and profoundly.

Only read it if you're mentally prepared!

A poem I found years ago...

2007-11-12T03:34:00.000-08:00

Don't Stand at My Grave and Cry

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there
I do not sleep

I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle Autumn rain

When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds

In circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there
I did not die

A few things I've been collecting these few weeks

2007-10-07T03:09:00.000-07:00

Hmm... well I've been a bit slow getting around to putting all the images I've collected up on here, but at least I got around to it in the end.

Here are a few adverts mainly that I have found and enjoyed, and why I think they're soo good. Ohh, and I brought a couple of books, one of which is all about guerrilla advertising and which I really enjoyed. Its soo funky! OK, here goes.

This one is for a car, as you can tell, and I didn't have time to note which type (prob not that successful an advert then, oops) because I was collecting my sister from a week spent on a boat. That said, it caught my eye because it was the sort of thing I'm always saying, and was good enough to make me stop and photo it - its just nice and funny, and shows a good knowledge of their target audience and where they have put the advert.

This is an old retro advert from my uni bar, and I only studied it closely recently! This led me to the conclusion that any advert using the phrases "Trans-Coronal Plosions" and "Flugent Strobo-luminescence" are brilliant brilliant brilliant. That said tho, I do love words.

I'm not sure if this can be seen all that well, but here is a nice creative dove advert, for anti-perspirant. You have to reach up to touch it and show of you beautiful underarms. Not sure anyone will actually do it, but the point is gotten across!

Amsterdam Advert!

2007-09-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

Always on the look out for any interesting and innovative advertising, I was delighted to find something 3D and fun in the middle of the street in Amsterdam.

Essentially an advert for poker straight hair products from Nivea, the point of how straight it got hair was emphasised by a 3D glass box encasing loads and loads of hair straighteners! I'm pretty sure this got the point across, thought the only hesitation I have is that I came away remembering about hair straighteners, but having not noticed who the advert was by! Not a good sign. It would have been, simple, too, to get the product noticed amongst the creativity. Make all the hair straighteners the colour of the product - or write the name on them. Easily solved!!

Cars Cars and More Cars...

2007-08-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

I seem to be going through a bit of a phase with cars at the moment. I suppose it is developing a drive to earn lotsa money - or at least save it, so that I can afford that Ford Mustang years down the line!!

OK, joking aside, cars are looking good this year! Following ar a few choice examples!!

The audi R8. Mmmm....

2007 Ford Mustang. Pure American Muscle...

Chevy Camara Concept car - little Bumblebee from Tranfsormers *ahem* - Transformed!

The Madness Hamsters

2007-08-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

Worldly wisdom from Edward Monkton - here's his website http://www.edwardmonkton.com/

Super Duper Chocolate Cake Recipe

2007-08-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

Chocolate-Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
10oz self-raising flour
10oz brown sugar (dark)
4 eggs
10oz salted butter
3 dessert spoons cocoa powder#
2 x bars of dark chocolate
1 x bar of milk chocolate
Vanilla Essence

Method:
Sieve flour into a bowl and mix in sugar and cocoa, getting rid of any lumps.
Mix in the eggs, it should reach a sticky consistency.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. When melted add 1 bar of dark choc and stir until fully melted. Be careful not to boil/burn it.
Mix butter/choc into the bowl, stirring hard. Add the vanilla essence. Continue beating until very smooth and a little bubbly.
Poor into two cake tins and cook at 175 degrees until a knife inserted into centre comes out clean.
Immediately remove from tins.

For the icing:
Melt about 2 ox butter in a saucepan and add the 2 remaining chococalte bars.
As before, stir continuously unitl melted, adding a little more butter if it goes too thick.
Spread out between the cakes and on top whilst the cake is still quite warm.
Leave cake to cool.

Exercise, exhaustion and random sights

2007-08-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well I have discovered the world of Callanetics. I haven't exercised properly in what seems like years, excluding the odd traipse down to the swimming pool to swim for 20 minutes in my lunch break. Somehow 20 lengths with lenient breaks followed by a bacon sandwich and chocolate bar never seems to count.

So we walked over the the great hall, where we were using an abandoned looking room for all sorts of stretching and toning. Its a little like yoga, but my god does it hurt! Its way more controlled, and really really hard on your muscles. 2 days later I'm still aching around my shoulders. Which is both satisfying, and a little worrying!

A quick perusal of the Internet showed that lots of other avid "experimenters" had put this exercise to the test - and surprisingly nearly everyone felt an effect. I was impressed, and can't wait to go again. Feeling fit makes me happy, and I can't imagine anything better than the feeling of endorphins.

I'm still working full time, and what with me being grumpy and hormonal at the moment it is making me a little tired. However, working gives me something to do - a way to pass the time and keep me occupied. Also, I really like everyone in the office, and sitting around and gossiping whilst bustling through envelope stuffing, filing and data inputting it lovely. Peoples are always coming and going, too, and they loved my chocolate cake. See my next blog!

Saw a good advert today, and snapped it on my phone before i even though of looking it up on the web. Technologically-able I may be, but occasionally I forget!

Always Use Protection

2007-07-30T07:55:00.001-07:00

The Slippery slope

2007-07-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

Well. Today I start a blog! Its not my first attempt at something like this, though this has a more satisfying name to say. I used to have a journal, and some of the moments that got honoured in there were life changing. Unfortunately, that journal was on a floppy disk, and life changing as they may be those moments can't get onto my laptop, so will have to stay archived!

I suppose my first blog ought to be a bit of an introduction to me. Which is the bit I always hate on things like my space and facebook, so who knows why I am choosing to do it! The first thing you can do is check my other sites out, if you want a preconceived blurb about lil old me. They're at: www.myspace.com/a_happy_dreamer and http://lancs.facebook.com/profile.php?id=273100748

OK, maybe easier to break me down into manageable chunks. Think BBC Bitesize, think me. Kinda.

Passions: I'm a reader and a half , was brought up on books. Like to think of myself as well read and will try most things, though I have developed a mental block for old classics of the "Pride & Prejudice" variety. I love Chuck Paluhnuik, Jean Auel, Phillip Pullman, Neil Gaimen (both graphic and written novels), Ben Elton, Stephen King, Dan Brown (and cohort), Roald Dahl, Nicholas Evans, E.E Cummings, Phillip Larkin and many, many more!
Probably because of this I write short stories and poetry - though have just recovered from a long period of writers block. I love photography, really admire the likes of Holst, Mapplethorpe, Mario Testino, Cartier Bresson and so on and so forth. Anything that shows the human body as art or the everyday as something special can catch my eye and my heart. I do some photography myself, though not enough - hopefully some of my stuff will be shown on here in the coming months.
I'm also really into music - mainly indie and rock, but to be honest anything has the potential to tickle my tastebuds! I'm going to the lowlands festival this summer and cannot wait! http://www.lowlands.nl/

Adverts: So bold and comprehensive a-title. I'm bordering obsessed with adverts, have respect for many and intense dislike for an equal amount. It seems that if a product, a concept or a dream can be captured in copy, in image or in sound then it ought to be classified as art. Think Guinness' White Horses, Dove's "Campaign for real beauty", Coca-cola's sheer brand power, PlayStation's bringing entertainment beyond the screen, Virgin re-defining train travel. Think Andrex Puppy, Halifax Howard and the potential that Tyrannosaurus Alan has! Think Carling belonging and the pure decadence of M&S Food! I love them.

So there we are. That's me. Hopefully you'll "get me" when I've written a few more blogs. I'm complicated, artsy, dreamy and determined. I can be focused bu woolly headed, funny whilst utterly cringe worthy, and downright silly. Sums me up really!