TiffanyScottMaddox

20th August 2010

Post with 15 notes

Online Integrity

Hola,

So I know you live for my blogs and since I haven’t contributed one in a while I thought I’d go right ahead and fill you in on the happenings of my life. You are excited, don’t pretend you’re not.

Now, this is where we have a dilemma, to some extent I’m really very open on the internet but I’ve started thinking about how this effects my actual real physical life. Obviously if you follow me in any way shape of form you’ll know I’m an opinionated, stubborn and often self indulgent young woman with a penchant for foul language and hedonism. I make no secret of the fact that I like to drink lots of wine and dance to Lady Gaga and I don’t think I should ever really hide that. Yes, I suppose all of this is open source and potential employers could be put off, but I don’t think I really want to work with and for people who are put off by a bit of personality. I keep thinking about moderating my so called ‘online presence’ but the web is my playground and I’d hate to have to constantly second guess everything I tweet/blog/vlog in case someone gets the wrong end of the stick. At the end of the day, if someone has the right credentials and is professional enough to not allow their private life to affect them in the work place then it’s pointless taking someone’s facebook account etc into consideration before you hire them.

This isn’t to say that employers have been put off by my activity on the web, but it’s food for thought. Censoring myself or selling out have never been on my agenda. I make videos because I love the online community and connecting with people. Not because I want to cash in on it some day. When people email me to tell me that they feel like they know me because of my videos, that makes me feel all lovely and warm inside. I’d rather that, than making videos to order, cutting back on my language and waiting for a few pitiful google cheques to come in.

When someone asked me why I started making videos about myself and my life rather than anything else, I said “I had nothing to give, so I just gave them me”, and I really hope that I continue to do that.

:)

8th August 2010

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Telly, Lost Jobs and Accidental Exposure.

Hello blog!

It’s been a funny old week. After feeling entirely manic for days on end I popped up to London for a job interview, (I did not get the job. I’ll spare you the details, I’m not giving another stupid website more of my time/exposure) and I visited Noush.

Things have passed in a bit of a strange blur. Time has been behaving differently, and my mind is going from racing at 10 million miles an hour to being almost entirely blank. Just plain (Kevin) spacey and weird. Today I’m at a bit of a baseline which is good. After a few days of thinking I failed at life and should have been drowned a birth I’ve finally got a bit of perspective and realised that I’m more badass than most, and my excellent talent and creative flair is just too much for some idiots to digest. I also have to do something super important in front of a room full of super official people next week so in terms of the job I didn’t get, losing out to a mediocre and talentless idiot seems less depressing. It actually becomes quite hilarious.

That’s enough of that though.

Telly lately has been bloody brilliant and as my approach to employment is casual to say the very least I have plenty of time on my hands to watch it. In terms of American TV I’ve been gobbling down endless servings of trash thanks to the return of The Rachel Zoe Project and The Jersey Shore. The E! Channel never EVER disappoints so I have that to fall back on when there is nothing else. Monday morning True Blood has become a ritual so sweet that I can barely function Tuesday - Sunday due to the anticipation.

British TV is also throwing out some absolute CORKERS from the brilliant Sherlock on BBC1 to the absolutely classless Underage and Pregnant, Young Dumb and Living of Mum and Amish - The World’s Squarest Teenagers.

A friend of mine works with one of the little shits from Young Dumb and Living off Mum and I don’t know if I should feel proud…or ashamed that I’m in some way connected to him. It’s a combination of the two, I like to call it ashoud.

So that’s telly covered. Music wise, I’m literally addicted to these two tracks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6akwAmWTIU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RNePy_awq0 <— Especially this one. Big tune, very summery.

Finally, here are some bite sized facts/events that have happened since we last spoke.

I got a blister on my little toe.
I made an epic veggie sausage casserole.
I sat on a pavement drinking fruity beer with a load of Nathan Barleys.
I wore a see through shirt in Shoreditch and caused a stir. (It was accidental, I didn’t realise until I got there.)
I made Charlotte watch the Notebook and she almost had a breakdown.
I found my old ipod.

Until next time.
<3

29th July 2010

Post with 1 note

Celebrity Masterchef

I have a new obsession, it’s called Celebrity Masterchef and it’s not very good.

If you don’t know the format, basically the BBC drags a few D-lister TV whores out of the dole queue and shoves them in a kitchen before forcing them to cook in front of cameras. The celebrities are desperate for more air time, the food is rubbish and the producers are seemingly using the program as an excuse to play all their favourite indie hits.

It’s presented by Greg Wallace (or Bald Masterchef as I call him) who is some kind of veg salesman and John Torode who is apparently a chef, but I’ve never seen him on Saturday kitchen so I can’t comment on how legitimate he is.

Let me break down a typical episode for you.

The show opens to some kind of weird intense club music that wouldn’t be out of place in a Dutch film about undercover cops. There are lots of close ups of knives being sharpened and water boiling. At this point Bald Masterchef bellows “Cooking doesn’t get any tougher than this!!!” and then we meet the celebs.

At this stage they’ll be asked about food and will either give generic answer A or generic answer B.

Answer A: “Food is everything to me really, I love experimenting and fusing together different styles. I grew up around food, my mum was always cooking and I want to bring some of my Jamaican/Southern/Asian/South American/Indian (delete as appropriate) influences into the kitchen”

Answer B: “To be honest, I don’t really cook that much as home, but I’m here to learn and do the best that I can do”

One thing that really gripes me is the sheer number of Celebrities who openly admitted they couldn’t cook on a program called Masterchef. That’s like saying “I’ll literally do anything to be on TV, anything. Do you have any shit you need eating? Prime time on BBC2? I’ll DO IT”

They then go through a series of cooking challenges, which consist of them ‘experimenting’ and making ridiculous combinations of food to abstract drum and bass then having Bald Masterchef and Co. judge it. FYI The way Greg eats soup is so weird it’s unreal, I find myself transfixed every time.

After each challenge, someone goes through to the next round. Cue uplifting music as one celebrity stands there with his/her head in their hand saying “I can’t believe it, I’m over the moon. My wife/husband/daughter/mum is going to be so proud”

The rejected contestants walk slowly out to the changing area and hang up their aprons, here there will be some Snow Patrol playing as they shrug and talk about how disappointed they are. They’ll usually say “Of course I’m going to keep cooking” as if a day filming on the set of Masterchef has the ability to create kitchen phobias.

So that’s Masterchef. You can see why I love it.
(P.s. I screencapped this picture of Greg Wallace earlier. It makes me laugh every time I see it)

28th July 2010

Post reblogged from Paperlilies with 616 notes

Inception - a bad review.

So! Sorry if your lovely tumblr dashboard is already filled with billions of Inception references/photos/quotes/spoilers/gifs etc but I felt I needed to add to the discussion.

I went with the legendary Lady Amy Face, Curtis and Alex to see the movie tonight and I have to say, it was fantastic. Very visually dynamic, gripping, engaging and Hollywood summer blockbuster to the core, yet also incredibly cerebral.

I had almost forgotten that Christopher Nolan had directed it, and I know The Dark Knight is brilliantly acted and well directed etc, that but I get the impression that Nolan probably kisses a mirror before he goes to sleep at night. Also, after so many idiots hailed TDK as ‘teh greatest movee evaaarrr’ I felt inclined to disagree with anything Nolan did from that point onwards. Heath Ledger was fantastic in that movie, I think we can all agree on that but over 2 1/2 hours of ill observed social commentary rammed down my throat is not something I really enjoy. Thank god then, for the redeeming qualities of Inception.

I find it difficult to find fault with this movie. The length was something I had a little gripe about before hand, but at no point did the film lull or feel as if it was dragging on. Joseph Gordon Levitt is marvelous in this by the way. He’s come a hell of a long way from those halcyon Third Rock From the Sun days. Also, TOM HARDY is very delicious.

The only things that marred the experience slightly (and this will in no way effect your viewing so feel free to just skip right past this part) was the fact that was;

a) Sitting in the front row somewhere near the far right and spent the whole time with my head tilted back and to the side in order to somewhat see. (If I get taco neck, I’m suing you Cineworld)

and,

b) Chugged about 6 pints of diet coke in Nandos and therefore got an insane urge to pee about 15 minutes from the end. It was so intense I eventually couldn’t wait anymore and had to RUN to the bathroom and back so as not to miss anything. As it stands, I probably missed the most crucial 3 minutes in the film. So I guess I’ll have to see it again. (NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL)

Anyway, if you haven’t already seen it, then I strongly suggest you do. It’s well worth a trip to the cinema, and please, don’t watch a shitty torrented cam version you find online. That defeats the object. It’s like going to a concert with ear defenders on.

Source: odios

27th July 2010

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Learning Japanese (The Maddox Way)

It would appear that I’ve taken up learning Japanese again. It’s only my 8 millionth attempt and at the risk of sounding like a massive Weeaboo I just want to be prepared for the day I eventually go to Japan and immerse myself into the culture.

I’ve tried podcasts and various online resources before in an attempt to get at least a basic grasp of the language but to no avail. It’s all well and good learning this word and phrase here and there but constructing a sentence has always stumped me.

I would have gone on a course IRL but I know my tendency to be a bit flaky with that kind of thing, so wanted to make sure I has some understanding before I attempted something a bit more costly. (FYI Cardiff folks, the university runs courses a few times a year if you’re interested)

So it’s a stroke of luck then, that I found a lovely iPhone app to help me learn the basics, and as such I’ve been taunting my twitter follwers For just £2.99 you get 30 full lessons that include quizzes, vocab and writing exercises as well as spoken lessons in English complete with pronunciation from a native speaker. I tried the lite version for free first (I love it when apps offer you a taster) and after conquering the three free lessons I was hooked and quickly forked out my three quid for the full thing.

The interface is simple and like most iPhone apps very intuitive when it comes to navigation, the spoken lessons are nicely paced but you have the option to pause them if things are moving a little too quickly.

I have literally no idea why, but apparently a penguin is involved in the teaching somehow.




What I love about this app, is that is teaches you about constructing a sentence from the offset in the simplest way possible. For example, when asking for something you use this little system.

Noun - Marker - Request

Sake-o kudasai = I humbly request some sake (this is always the first phrase that comes to mind, I’ve got a feeling it’ll soon become the screen saver for my brain)

I like this because it teaches you the method rather than just giving you a useful phrase to memorize, which is good for basic survival but useless in the long run.

It is by far the most useful and interesting language app I’ve ever tried or downloaded and I’m absolutely in love with it. If you are thinking about learning Japanese, I strongly suggest you try it out, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Anyway, look at my awesome quiz scores…

*gloat*

11th May 2010

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The STA World Traveller Internship

This whole experience has been mad, really really mad and it’s taught me three things;

1) Never underestimate the power of Social Media

2) Never underestimate yourself and your own abilities

3) Never underestimate the likelihood of your gadgets failing you when you need them most.

For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about, (where have you been the last few months? I’ve been relentlessly campaigning!) basically it’s a three month internship that involves an all expenses paid trip around the globe whilst you document your travels through various mediums.
The people at STA travel choose two lucky creatures to trot around South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and Miami taking photographs, making videos and blogging about their experiences. I think you can agree, it’s an amazing opportunity for anyone but especially so for someone as passionate about the internet/social media as I am. Travelling I love very much, but the internet is now, and always has been my first love.

The thing that most surprised me was the response from my friends and followers on various little networks who were all willing to help me on my journey by making videos, writing blogs, tweeting, sending out emails to friends and family etc.
Basically nearly everyone I’ve come into contact with online has fully supported this whole endeavor and I’m beyond grateful to you all. Without such encouragement I’m almost certain I’d have second guessed myself and probably crumbled underneath the enormity of everything, so thank you.

There is still time to vote as I’m currently in the final 10 so if you get a minute then I’d be ever so pleased if you’d stop by here and click that little green button.

My final application video is somewhat disappointing even if I do say so myself but I’ll tell you one thing, I do know how to talk to a camera and make you feel like you’re my best friend. That’s a skill that not a lot of people have and that’s the only card I’ve got left to play in this whole charade.

For now, I leave this in your capable hands.

Peace easy.

Maddox
<3

16th October 2009

Post with 1 note

“Why there is nothing natural about homophobia”.

Well well well, today has been a victorious day for the liberal twitter user. Just in case you missed the shit storm that happened earlier, I’ll fill you in.
Basically a Daily Mail journalist called Jan Moir wrote a bile ridden column which featured her musings thoughts erm… belches on the death of ex boyzone singer and general 90s heartthrob Stephen Gately. Now generally I don’t touch the Mail with a bargepole because of it’s vile lazy sensationalist ‘journalism’, but even I was intrigued to see the Daily Mail in the trending topics and simply had to investigate. What I found was so obviously yet another piece of right wing twaddle not worth the space it’s taking up on the Internet. In the piece titled ‘Why there was nothing ‘natural’ about Stephen Gately’s death’ she questions the official coroner’s report insisting;

“Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again. Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one.”

Which to be honest is just the beginning of her laborious homophobic tirade, the rest of which I won’t bother going into. Suffice to say the undertone is wildly bigoted.
I’ll break it down for you into her three main points to save you the bother of going and reading that filth.

1) Being gay means you’ll do drugs and it will probably kill you
2  Being gay means you’re probably promiscuous
3) Being gay means your marriage/civil partnership will be fraught with problems.

So, I’m afraid I’m going to have to speak for the people who aren’t able to have a voice and clear a few myths up for Jan.

There are many misconceptions and prejudices that surround gay culture and lifestyle, one of which is the belief that there are drugs in abundance. That young wide eyed boys and girls enter gay clubs at a tender age only to find their heads swiped back like pez dispensers and fistfuls of ecstasy shoved down their throats. I can’t speak on behalf of everyone but I have gay friends, I have straight friends, some do drugs, some don’t. What the fuck that has to do with their sexuality or life expectancy… I can’t tell you, because it just doesn’t.

Homosexuality is somehow connected to sexual deviance in the minds of the bigots. That for some reason being attracted to your own sex is perverse. The assumption is, if you’re a gay man you’re attracted to every single man in the world including fat sweaty homophobes in pub toilets and if you’re a lesbian then your friends can’t change infront of you incase…y’no…you try and feel them up or something. Jan Moir expresses this point perfectly saying;

“Cowles and Gately took a young Bulgarian man back to their apartment. It is not disrespectful to assume that a game of canasta … was not what was on the cards … What happened afterwards is anyone’s guess.”

Well, it kind of is disrespectful to assume that they had a roaring threesome. The ‘young Bulgarian man’ in question was a friend of the couple. My mother who is single stays with friends who are married all the time, for some reason though no one accuses her of anything untoward. I wonder why…oh…because they’re straight couples. Big difference. I forgot straight married couples love and respect each other, whereas, according to Moir, gay couples are sexual predators looking for young Bulgarian men to take home and fuck before selfishly dying on the sofa.

Which leads me to my final point. Gay marriage. Why the fuck are we still debating this? What is so terrible about two people being in love and deciding to spend their lives together? Jan of course has an opinion;

“”Another real sadness about Gately’s death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships… Gay activists are always calling for tolerance and understanding about same-sex relationships, arguing that they are just the same as heterosexual marriages”

… and I have my own.

They are.

I dedicate this blog to Michael Causer, Lauren Harries, Gerry Edwards…and well…every single person in the LGBT community that has had to deal with bigotry and closed mindedness in their lives, and to those who continue to do so.