Trick or Treat?

Trick or Treat?Trick or Treating is now one of the most widely recognized traditions of the Halloween holiday. Children dress up in costume and go from house to house, with a question ”Trick or treat?” as a treat they often get confectionary, occasionally money and the trick is an idle threat to perform mischief on the homeowners property if no treat is given.

In England and Ireland a form of trick or treating began many years ago in the form of souling, where children would go from door to door singing and saying prayers for the dead in return for cakes.

There is no evidence that souling was ever practiced in North America, where trick-or-treating may have developed independent of any Irish or British antecedent. (more…)

Halloween Movies

Thor: The Dark WorldWhy not celebrate Halloween throughout October, in traditional style with scary films from Marvel Sci-Fi adventures, to true horror movies…

Starting with Natalie Portman staring alongside Chris Hemsworth in the 30th October 2013 UK release of Thor: The Dark World.

Marvel’s ‘Thor: The Dark World’ continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s ‘Thor’ and ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’ Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. (more…)

Diana Movie

DianaNaomi Watts is one of those unique celebrities – incredibly beautiful and yet down to earth (probably able to walk around without being noticed). Maybe it has something to do with being raised in laid-back Australia, although she is English born and now lives in New York. She has two sons and an enviable eight year length marriage (given Hollywood norms) to actor Live Schreiber.

Like many Australian’s she started her acting life with a stint on Home And Away, but perhaps unusually she did not really bloom in Hollywood until she was in her 30’s gaining critical acclaim for her work in David Lynch‘s 2001 psychological thriller Mulholland Drive, starring alongside Justin Theroux and Laura Harring. Then next came public recognition for her participation in the box office hit horror film The Ring. In 2004, she received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress as well as for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Cristina Peck in 2003 drama 21 Grams. Her other film roles have included: The 2005 remake of King Kong, the 2006 remake of The Painted Veil, the 2007 thriller Eastern Promises, the 2009 thriller The International. Then In 2010, Watts portrayed Valerie Plame Wilson, opposite Sean Penn as Joe Wilson, in Fair Game. In 2011 J Edgar and Dream House and this year The Impossible and Movie 43 which is in post-production. (more…)

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sisterland Book CoverCurtis Sittenfeld is the author of the bestselling novels American Wife, Prep, and The Man of My Dreams, which have been translated into twenty-five languages. Prep was chosen as one of the Ten Best Books of 2005 by The New York Times and optioned by Paramount Pictures, and American Wife was chosen as one of the Ten Best Books of 2008 by Time, People, and Entertainment Weekly; both were nominated for the UK’s Orange Prize.

Her latest novel Sisterland tells the story of twin sisters:

From an early age, Kate and her identical twin sister, Violet, knew that they were unlike everyone else. Kate and Vi were born with peculiar “senses” – innate psychic abilities concerning future events and other people’s secrets. Though Vi embraced her visions, Kate did her best to hide them. (more…)

Psychic Twins

Twins
We all have the ability to strengthen our psychic abilities but some are more innately talented than others. Over the years there has been a particular focus on twins and the abilities they may have over us mere single borns when it comes to extra sensory abilities, especially between themselves.

There have certainly been some strange happenings with twins. A four year old girl burnt her hand whilst her identical twin, which was nowhere near the heat, had an identical blister in the same place. A grown man found himself slouched in his arm chair and struggled to move for a while, unbeknownst to him, his twin brother, who lived thirty miles away, had been shot dead. One pair of twin sisters were that in tune with each other that despite them living in separate countries found that one day they had bought the exact pair of trousers from the same retail chain on the same day. The very same twins, whilst one was in labour, the other found she had dreamt she was holding a baby, totally unaware that her sister had gone into labour (due to the time differences). (more…)

Out-Of-Body Experiences

Out of Body ExperiencesWhen I think about an out-of-body experience I tend to conjure up the movie version, where somebody is on the brink of death, doctors all around, CPR and defibrillation being administered, but the person is hovering between deciding whether to live or whether to give up and all the time aspects of their life are flashing before them…

However in reality out-of-body experiences can appear on a much less dramatic level, such as when we are on the verge of sleep, either when we are entering or leaving REM sleep – the rapid eye movement part of the cycle or during lucid dream sleep. People that have such experiences tend to have very emotional responses, either finding the event deeply disturbing or incredibly moving. It may be that they actually unconsciously willed themselves from their bodies, but others describe a feeling of having been dragged by an unknown force. The simplest explanation for out-of-body experiences is that our human consciousness separates from our human body for a period of time but travels unhindered. (more…)

Meet the Presenters & Judges of The Great British Bake Off

Great British Bake Off TeamDid you watch The Great British Bake Off series 3? I did and I thoroughly enjoyed every delicious moment of it! Being rather partial to a cake or two I have been watching since the beginning and with the last episode of series 3 garnering a viewing audience of 7.2 million to watch John Waite take home the title of best amateur baker – apparently I am not alone…

Whilst each year we hear more about the winners endeavours (see John Whaite Bakes book opposite) it seems to be the unique blend of presenters – Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc and judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood that really make the programme. (more…)

Holiday Packing

Suitcase PackingMy husband and I have had many a self-catering/self-drive holiday and there is something fantastic about being able to pack everything bar the kitchen sink! I’m lucky to have a husband that silently packs the car, knowing full well there are many things that will come back unused, unworn etc. – but he feels that if having the items lower my stress levels and lets us leave home feeling everything is right with the world, then so be it for a stress free holiday. But I know I am lucky – an estate car, a non-grumbling other half and only ourselves to worry about! (more…)

Intermittent Fasting

The Fast Diet BookIt is fair to say that there are several times of year that really make us think about weight – in the New Year as part of resolutions having indulged in lots of food and drink over Christmas and in the summer when the weather is making us shake off our layers and think about bearing all in our swimming costumes!

Along with these changing seasons it is also fair to say that there is always a new diet on the block, low fat, low carb, blood type, Atkins, Dukan – you name it…But now there is a new kid on the block with the catchy name of Intermittent Fasting, hot on the trend several books have been published and well publicised with television programmes, newspaper articles and shop presence. Such as The 5:2 Diet Book, The 2 Day Diet and The Fast Diet, all based on the same premise of fasting for two days and eating normally for the other five to achieve weight loss and a whole host of other benefits. (more…)

Schools Out For Summer!

Schools Out For SummerIf you have children it seems inevitable that at some point during school holidays those four dreaded words will be spoken “ARE WE THERE YET”. You could be going on a day trip or you could be going on holiday, maybe you have to take the car, a bus, a coach, a train, a boat, a plane or even a combination. Depending on the age of your children technology may help you – back seat DVD player, Nintendo DS anyone? But what if you have younger children, or you are camping or you just want a technology free break…Here’s some ideas that might keep them entertained and give you the little bit of peace and quiet you have been after: (more…)

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