Megan is Missing has caused some controversy since its release, banned in New Zealand for ‘glorifying young sexuality’. Elsewhere, mothers are taking away their children’s computers, outright banning them from spending time on the Internet.

The debate about protecting children from the Web is pretty controversial in itself. We have come to rely on technology and connecting to the Internet for all manner of reasons, be them completely innocent, like checking a fact for homework, or something a lot more sinister like ‘Josh’ has in mind. However, whatever anyone’s views on letting their children access the world wide web, Megan is Missing is a shocking story to make you think.

We follow the 14 year old Megan, not particularly a likeable character – but we see she does have a nicer side which she hides to avoid tarnishing her popularity with the ‘cool kids’ who drink, smoke drugs and have a good time. Megan is introduced to Josh, a faceless online ‘friend’ who claims his webcam is busted by his brother, and then chewed by his dog. You’d be sceptical right? Ok, well set your mind back to your early teens and tell me you wouldn’t just carry on chatting to kill the time. It’s a worrying thing, many of us may have chatted to any sort of person when we went through that phase of chatting to people online – and if you think I’m being unrealistic, just look at the popularity of Chat Roulette and other such forums.

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If you have no idea what I’m blabbering on about, Room 101 is a BBC comedy series, where celebrities come on and chat to the host about  things/people they would like to be rid of – sending them down the chute to Room 101. Ultimately, the guest would fight their reasonings for sending something to the room, but the host would decide its fate.

The new series is due to be broadcast later this month, and in celebration I decided to pick a few items that I myself wouldn’t mind sending down into the depths of Room 101…

Children

Not sure what's scarier, the baby or the parenting fail.

My first choice is a controversial one, for which I apologise – but anyone who knows me well, knows I greatly dislike kids. Actually, it’s not entirely the kids fault, it’s often the parent. OK, I’d like to send Bad parents down to the room. And here’s why: There are so many poor excuses for parents that I come across from time to time, it’d be nice for them to be put away somewhere out of the atmosphere that I inhibit. They raise children into a world that doesn’t permit a good slap when they misbehave, in fact misbehaving is rarely punishable at all. The Supernanny approach, made famous by Jo Frost is to ignore the screaming cretin until it silences. That’s not too helpful to the general public who could really do without a headache.

Tell your child off. Now. Oh, and stop smoking in front of it. That really gets my goat.

The Olympics

Even the 'mascots' annoy me

Again this could be edited to Most sports but I see the Olympics being a particular annoyance in 2012. Already there are news reports, adverts, and awful merchandise to promote an awful event which is costing way too much money. Oh yeah, tourism blah blah blah, the country will make lots of money from it. Encouraging fitness blah blah blah…it won’t work. You’re either obsessed with the Olympics, or human like me, and want to see it all cease to exist. I hate most sporting events – when the World Cup and all that rubbish comes along, I bury my head under the sand, or into a good book to get away from it all, and surely that’s a justified enough reason to send it down into the abyss of Room 101?

Mice

Even Googling 'mice' made me feel sick

Anyone who is a friend of mine will know that I am absolutely terrified of mice. I will have (and have had) panic attacks if I see one. Which I have. Twice in 2011 in my new flat. I also saw them in my old house. Damn living close to the sea, it apparently means they make appearances all the more often in places like Portsmouth. Probably should have factored that into my University search… I wonder if UCAS have ever contemplated a search for Uni towns with a lower chance of seeing rodents? Business potential there.

Anyway, I’m not entirely sure what it is about mice that gives me the creeps, but I can’t stand them, and there is no need for their existence.

So there’s my choices, what would you send down to the torturous hell of Room 101?

Merry Christmas, one and all! Is what I would have blogged 3 days ago if I wasn’t busy being festive and whatnot. OK, that’s just an excuse – my family aren’t all that traditional. Sure, we still celebrate Christmas, but we do it our way, and that’s the way we like it. Every other year my Nan will come to visit, but this year was a year with just the immediate family. Mum, Dad, brother and me. And two needy dalmatians, who beg for food twice as much at Christmas time – because they, like the rest of us, know that food is always in abundance at Christmas.

Every year at Christmas I do wonder how other families celebrate the holiday – we see it as a chance to relax, to not feel the need to entertain or impress – just sit and unwind, chat and watch TV, and eat as much as possible. It may not seem all that exciting to those of you who swear by spending time with your 20 cousins, playing Pictionary and charades – but that sort of tradition sounds like hell to me. My parents work hard, and as such, it’s nice to see them relax. Even the cooking of the infamous turkey and trimmings wasn’t too taxing this year. Well, it didn’t look taxing from where I was sitting and waiting ever so patiently. It was delicious though, and that’s what matters.

The television often plays a significant part in our Christmas Day – it’s the background noise to the chatter, playing with the dogs, and occasional napping. This year we opted to watch An Idiot Abroad as there was so little on the TV this year. I have noticed in previous years that Christmas telly may be (mostly) god-awful, but it’s pretty interesting in its reflections of family life during the festive season. No idea what I’m talking about? Let me discuss the several programmes I caught this year, and in previous years which paint a picture of families at Christmas…

Outnumbered (Saturday 24th Dec, 2011, BBC One)

Karen and Ben from Outnumbered

Outnumbered is a show that has always done a pretty good job of reflecting an ‘average family’ with young kids – or at least the ideas I get about how it would be. This year’s Christmas special saw the family attempting to go away to foreign lands for Christmas, but weighing the dilemma of letting a slightly deranged friend house-sit, and contemplating whether it’s morally right to jet off to somewhere sunny for the festive season with granddad in hospital with dementia.

The show is usually made brilliant by the kids performances – and with the child actors quickly growing older, there is slight concern that they may have lost their charm. However, Mum (Claire Skinner) and Dad (Hugh Dennis) still manage to accurately portray a married couple, balancing their own issues whilst having concerns and guilt towards others (i.e. when they mistakenly convince a friend that their boyfriend has been to prison). For Christmas telly, the charm of the Outnumbered family clan comes from a somewhat conventional sitcom-style plot, where things are not all rosy, and often go wrong – but ultimately, being with the family is what Christmas is all about. Cheesy, but appropriate for the time of year.

Doctor Who (Sunday 25th Dec, 2011, BBC One)

Matt Smith as the Doctor

Speaking of cheesiness at Christmas, here comes the Doctor! This episode, entitled ‘The Widow and The Wardrobe‘ draws heavy inspiration from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, an absolute classic and wonderful choice of muse for the Christmas Special. The episode stuck to the usual Christmas campness, with very minor dark overtones, which for me, as a Doctor Who episode made it less enjoyable – but the general mass audience probably enjoyed it more than the usual dramatic episodes of the show.

The episode again honed in on family values, making the Mother figure (played by Outnumbered‘s Claire Skinner) the heroine of the story – a sentiment perhaps grounded in the tradition of the mother doing all the cooking, present wrapping and Xmas aftermath cleaning that makes her the heroine of festivities also. A happy ending for the episode brought back short cameos from Amy and Rory to get the die-hard fans excited for the next season, but also reminded us that the trio are very much like a not-so-traditional-but-nonetheless-wonderful family, too.

Lapland (Saturday 24th Dec, 2011, BBC One)

The family go to Lapland

Admittedly, I did not watch the whole of this programme – not entirely through lack of interest, just boredom of watching TV in general. My understanding, from what I did see of the show, was that a large family are visiting Lapland with their children to go and visit Santa and see the Northern Lights. It becomes a typical package holiday, with pointless trips, disgruntled tour guides and the pressure to make the most of the experience and try and leave the emotional baggage behind. Of course, as is in the real world too – this is a lot easier said than done.

From the experience of watching some of the show (which I should get round to finishing, as the parts I saw were rather good), the reflections on family at Christmas are very much the same as is traditional – there’s the usual fuss and fighting, but ultimately, again, the festive season brings the family together. It’s a tried and tested formula, and it works.

The Soaps

Apologies for the very generalised title of ‘The Soaps’, but I am not a huge fan of them, and only catch the occasional Christmas Special (just because it’s on), and don’t choose to watch Eastenders/Coronation Street/etc on a regular basis. However, I’ve seen enough to know that around Christmas and New Year, the drama is turned up to 11, usually resulting in someone’s demise. It’s a stark contrast to the happy endings of a lot of Xmas TV, but it’s events that millions of viewers tune in for. But why? Is it because you know these fictional characters are going to have a worse Christmas than you, even if you did burn the turkey or get those hideous slippers from your mother-in-law? I guess it’s for all manner of different reasons.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

The Dark Knight Rises

Well guys and gals, the newest Dark Knight Rises poster has reached the World Wide Web, and has teased us yet again.

Alluding at the famous back-breaking finale for the Bat, the new poster – although awesome – doesn’t really give us much of a fresh perspective. It’s pretty inevitable now that Bane is going to Break The Bat. We can’t wait to see it still, mind.

The poster holds no bars back, claiming The Legend Ends…the end of the trilogy, the end of the Nolan’s reign over the Caped Crusader. The Bat’s mask is broken, and Bane is supposedly triumphant. But will there be a twist? Will we be surprised? We’ll have to wait and see.

This week saw the release of the prologue, the first six minutes of the film. Previewing before the new Mission Impossible film, the prologue to Dark Knight Rises is rumoured to involve Bane (played by the excellent Tom Hardy) masterminding some trouble to introduce us to the threat that the Venom-pumped criminal poses.

UPDATE: 21/12/2011

After a couple of days with a terrible quality leaked trailer available, we finally have the shiny, shiny released one. We see a beaten up Bat, Bane causing terror and turmoil, and Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman being seductive yet seemingly sneaky. Let’s look…

Exciting stuff, huh? Well I’m excited. Bane’s army of criminals look like a force to be reckoned with, not to mention the monster himself. I’m a huge Hardy fan, and cannot wait to see how he plays out the brickhouse that is Bane.

Speaking of Bane, news has hit that director Chris Nolan has been requested to edit Bane’s voice as it is a little bit of a struggle to hear, what with the accent put on by Hardy, and the villainous mask clasped over his face. Here’s the news story on Digital Spy.  Nolan, as the story states, has stated that he will not change the voice completely, but edit it slightly to make it more audible. Good on him – it’s clearly a problem you’d notice during the production stages, but the push for a trailer was probably premature given how much news has already been released about the movie which isn’t due until the summer of next year.

No matter what issues have arose surrounding The Dark Knight Rises (the initial being that some felt the title was a bit pants), following  Nolan’s previous trip to Gotham and his fantastic Inception, hopes are pretty darn high for him to get the finale of his Bat trilogy just right.

“When Gotham turns to ashes, you have my permission to die”  

This review is SPOILER-FREE.

Nothing’s scarier than the future, right? Essentially, yes. The Black Mirror mini-series is playing on this notion, by bringing us three slightly twisted tales of how the future could look, with the rising importance, and reliance on technology and social media. This week’s episode, entitled The National Anthem played on the idea of the Prime Minister having to sacrifice his dignity to save the life of a Royal.

This as a premise is certainly an interesting one – factor in some commentary on our obsession and reliance on technology and our undeniable desire to be voyeurs of other’s misfortunes, and you’ve got yourself a winner, surely? Unfortunately not.

Charlie Brooker, well-known and somewhat respected journalist/writer/generally cynic bloke, misses the mark here by making this show darkly ‘comic’. You see, what the Prime Minister has to do to ensure the rescue of the Royal -named Princess Susannah and known as a Facebook celebrity (whatever that means) – takes away the impact the show should have had. With Charlie Brooker you are expecting some surprises, usually comic – but the overriding joke is just immature and juvenile. The joke is what the PM has been demanded to do to save the Princess, and it’s clearly a technique to get people talking.

I can see how it achieves this, and I can also see in a way why that particular demand was chosen – it gets the initial cheap laugh, then becomes very sinister as the plot begins to unravel. Unfortunately, I can also see how the ridiculous demand ruins the impact of the commentary on our modern times that this show also bases itself around. It’s tough, because I was captivated by the episode, which is obviously its intention, but I was also left feeling a little disappointed once the credits began to roll.

In the show’s credit, the acting and the script (ridiculousness aside) was credible and enjoyable. Some of the more subtle jokes were wonderfully written and laced with wit. However there were parts of the show that were painfully predictable, and others which made little sense, but overall it was enough to maintain interest and begin to consider its messages.

Black Mirror : The National Anthem had a lot to say, and most of these messages were clear but not bombarding. The show does make you think about this age of technology – how quickly news spreads via mediums like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook, and it also makes you think about dignity, and whether our actual PM(s) would sacrifice their societal standing to save a life like the PM of the show did, and the consequences that may have on their popularity amongst the general public. My money is on Cameron and Clegg both passing up on tarnishing their shiny reputations (and foreheads in Cameron’s case).

Watch Black Mirror: The National Anthem for these messages, and not for a laugh – because you’ll barely crack a smile.

Did you see the show? Leave a comment and get a discussion going! There’s a lot to say about it. 

If you missed it, watch it here on 4oD

No, Santa Claus has already arrived, sat down, kicked off his boots and is joining us watching the usual relentless Christmas adverts. Christmas, yet again has come way too early this year, and I’m sick of it. For me, the countdown to Christmas starts when the first door of the advent calendar has been pulled open – or ripped off, depending on your level of excitement and/or enjoyment of chocolate.

Year after year, it feels like the Christmas decs, adverts, and ‘XX number of sleeps til Xmas!’ social media updates are getting earlier and earlier. By the time we actually reach December 25th, we’ll all be bored of it, and already waiting for the next excuse to be merry, New Years Eve. What gets my goat about preparing for Christmas so early is that all it means is getting stressed earlier, and the shops getting busier earlier. I for one decided to try and start browsing for Christmas presents at the beginning of November, foolishly thinking it was too early for me to have to fend off the over-keen Yuletide shoppers. I was wrong. I had by passed the ‘safe zone’ time period, and fallen into the absolute mess that is long queues, tat for gifts, and the worst of the space invaders – pushchair warriors. I won’t go into a rant about my general dislike for those that think their god’s gift because they have young screaming children, I will instead jump ahead, and indeed jump on the bandwagon, of bitching and moaning about adverts on TV. Here’s a few of the worst offenders:

How Littlewoods have ruined Christmas

Photo Credit: wikio.co.uk

This headline is hardly unique. Many bloggers, journalists and the general populace have had a thing or two to say about the new Christmas Littlewoods advert. If you’re lucky enough to have not seen it, then click here at your own risk.

The advert, as you may have already read in numerous locations, is fraught with problems. Of course, firstly the obvious, and most complained about element – god forbid this advert might actually stop children believing in Mr Claus. I agree this would be a shame, but most of me doesn’t care about this. What I care about is how the ‘lovely mothers’ being described on this advert are affording a HTC for Uncle Ken, and a Fuji camera for whatsherface, etc. Aren’t we in a recession or something? Don’t worry, your lovely mother has got a rather swish credit card, so she can buy lots of highly expensive presents, then spend 2012 sinking into deep debt and even deeper depression, rinse and repeat. Hurrah, Christmas! Littlewoods have been beyond ridiculous in this advert, not only painting an unrealistic picture of the typical mother, and destroying Santa, but by also picking the most cringe-inducing child actors to infuriate my ear drums. Please…make it stop.

Oh here we go, another moan at the John Lewis ad…

Photo credit: thedrum.co.uk

Right you are. Although not as bad of an offender as Littlewoods, the John Lewis advert yet again paints an unrealistic portrait of family life. The advert shows a kid counting down the days until Christmas – quite naturalistic, right? But no, when Christmas Day arrives, the kid ignores his own presents (ungrateful), and runs in to give his parents a badly wrapped present – I’m assuming it’s a John Lewis purchase. I can’t afford John Lewis and I occasionally work. I can only assume this kid is a thief, or it’s his parents money anyway.

The worst part about this advert is how it’ll make mums coo over their offspring, gushing to each other and anyone who is forced to hear, that their little angel would, or will do the same. Well gullible mothers, let me know how that works out on December 26th. I’ll admit though, the Slow Moving Millie cover of The Smiths ‘Please, Please, Please’ is pretty good.

Wii wish you a Merry Christmas

Photo Credit: Youtube.com

I may or may not be the first person to be infuriated by this trash. Out of the three, it is the least offensive I admit. But, it still manages to offend me. Whilst I’m glad our mother narrator speaks to Santa (suitably, as the Wii is a family-oriented console), I am less pleased at how the typical family is portrayed. They’re lush, large television and Ikea-styled living room screams money, and the rather stark ‘flashback’ contrast of the family’s last Christmas, is some attempt to reflect how ‘normal’ people spend their Christmas if they don’t own a Wii – sat in a dark room, hating each other and being bored without any presents or happiness. Please Santa, bring us a Nintendo Wii or we’ll be miserable and maybe even kill ourselves! Groaaan. Then, when we flash back to their Wii-filled Christmas, their family is suddenly about 3 times the size – word must have got out that the rich neighbours got one. Better go crash their Christmas to play Mario Kart!

I’ll admit, the Wii is a great novelty for Christmas – and of course its appeal is to families with young children, but could they at least introduce a little difference to the mix? Why continually represent the ‘nuclear family’ again and again? Why not the Modern Family (sorry, had to be done…) Or Nintendo, at the very least – stop making your Advert Family look so fake.

So there’s my gripes (so far) about 2011′s festive season. Stop celebrating so early. November may be a little boring, but it’s no excuse to hi-jack it and turn Christmas into a month-long holiday…trust me, it will get boring, because it sure is for me. Don’t be pressured to spend your money at high end shops – because most Christmas presents get boring before the New Year even begins.

Before the first episode of Life’s Too Short was even aired, there were a handful of critics accusing Gervais of being insensitive to little people, clearly ignoring the fact that Warwick Davis wasn’t coerced into performing against his will. The show, much like The Office derives its humour from the reactions people have to difference – i.e. Brenda from The Office who is in a wheelchair and the way David and Gareth react to her. The ‘characters’ of Life’s Too Short including Gervais and Merchant as themselves as well as celebrity cameos, all treat Warwick in different ways, not exclusively because of his height, but also because of his attitude.

Putting aside the ‘controversy’ that complaint-seekers have applied to the show, the programme itself takes elements of The Office (it’s mocumentary format and emphasised characterisation) as well as Extras (celebrity cameos), and combines them to feed the desires of those that hoped and prayed Gervais and Merchant would return to the shows for a new series. Fans should be satisfied with Life’s Too Short, and welcome the usual conventions that critics accuse Gervais of overusing.

I can’t really blame the criticisers for saying that Gervais has stuck somewhat to a formula here, of course he has. Neither Ricky or Stephen claimed that Life’s Too Short was going to be pioneering. Why change a format that works? Just update it slightly and enjoy the ride.

Episode One: Starring Liam Neeson

The first episode of the series introduces us to Warwick’s (fictional) life. His home – that he’s being kicked out of, and his agency that he runs to find work for little people (but actually steals all the good roles for himself). Admittedly, there are a couple of moments that do exclusively pick on Warwick’s height, but it is never cruel – otherwise, why would Warwick agree to fall out of his oversized Land Rover car? Or why would he agree to acting out a scene where he has to ask someone to ring the top buzzer for him?

For me, the funniest part of the episode was the celebrity cameo. I am a big fan of Liam Neeson, and his scene was fantastic. He comes into Gervais’ and Merchant’s office, wishing to become a stand up comedian, and enlisting the advice of the comedy duo. Gervais and Merchant indulge in performing some improv scenes to test his funny bones, but things dip into the serious with every situation. This scene is completely Marmite – but what makes it truly funny is Neeson’s ability to poke fun at himself.

As an opener to the series, the episode let’s us dip our toes in the water, see if it’s the right temperature for us. Undoubtedly, some people will never return to the show if they were at all offended, but to them I say – it clearly isn’t for you. The show cannot be taken seriously, which unfortunately seems to be difficult for those that can’t quite get to grips with the show’s intentions.

Episode Two: Starring Johnny Depp

Episode two of Life’s Too Short is quite a bit more brash than the first. This is truly experimenting with taste for those that get sensitive in regards to poking fun at little people. Again, it has to be remembered that the characters, including the celebrities are warped, exaggerated versions of themselves.

In this episode, Johnny Depp enlists the help of Davis to prepare for a role in a Tim Burton adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin. Depp is fascinated by all that Warwick does, giggling with delight as he gets him to do a jig, and stand in a toilet to help him get into the mindset of the evil dwarf character. If this doesn’t get the backs up of the critics, then nothing will. It does dance on the line of taste I’ll admit, but again, you remember that Warwick probably helped write the show, or at least contributed ideas. It may offend some little people, but any form of decent comedy is going to offend someone.

The highlight of the show again is the scene in Gervais’ and Merchant’s office. Warwick brings Johnny in to meet them, and Johnny harbours a grudge towards Gervais following his Golden Globe comments. Johnny flicks his cigarette ash into his drink, and slates Gervais’ career, bragging about his own. The writing of this scene is again absolute genius, and as Johnny reads out the jokes him and his Hollywood peers have written about Gervais, it’s clear that Gervais is happy to also poke fun at himself – or certainly Merchant is happy to write in a few jibes about his partner.

The show is definitely not for everyone. It’s bound to offend, but only when the point is truly missed. In many interviews, Gervais, Merchant and Davis have all clearly expressed that the show is not there to poke fun at little people, but to poke fun at the reactions that people may have towards them. Warwick’s comedic timing is wonderful, and all the supporting cast are also wonderful, if not a little two-dimensional (e.g. Davis’ accountant). The show will heavily rely on which celebrity cameos star, but the writing is very well done.

Life’s Too Short is shown on BBC 2 on Thursdays at 9:30pm and can also be seen on BBC IPlayer.

Rent out Ricky Gervais’ entire back catalogue including the classic extras and office from LOVEFiLM today, watch tv online now with LOVEFiLM, also sign up today and recieve a 2 week free trial.

X Factor UK has been running since September 2004, created by ‘media mogul’ Simon Cowell following the success of Pop Idol. Since then, every year, X Factor has consumed the general mass of the public. The good thing about the show, at least from the makers point of view, is that even if you hate it, chances are you’re going to be pretty vocal about how much you hate it. I am however not here to slag it off – not completely anyway.

I have tuned into at least part of X Factor every year. I like the auditions the best, the format of them is really well done and genuinely entertaining. Often after the auditions are over, I’d lose interest unless there was an act I really enjoyed. This year, this was the case at first. Janet Devlin’s first audition had me intrigued – although her version of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ was pretty much identical to Ellie Goulding’s, I nevertheless thought the girl had some talent, and was a breath of fresh air in that she had a slightly unique voice and an adorable ‘look’. Luckily, of course, Janet has made it thus far, but her appeal has worn off. My opinion has shifted – I’m backing Marcus, or Craig to win it this year. But when I tune in to X Factor every weekend, I’m actually not really fully supporting any of the contestants – I’m watching, rather shamefully, for the judge’s arguments. Despite enjoying some of the contestants, Louis’ outbursts are a lot more entertaining, and that is not good.

Gary, Tulisa, Kelly and Louis. Photo Credit: sandgent.co.uk

The X Factor has become somewhat of an awkward soap opera – where ‘celebrity’ judge egos contend with each other – are the arguments real, or are they staged for the ratings? This year’s show has received the worst ratings yet (and it’s often cited that the lack of Cowell has something to do with this), and all the disagreements amongst the judges seem to be a cheap shot at trying to steal those viewers back from Strictly Come Dancing. Rumours have spread, as they do, about all sorts of behind-the-scenes action on the show. From Mischa B’s apparently bullying, leading to Tulisa and Kelly not talking due to Tulisa accusing Mischa B live in front of the nation, to Kelly’s ‘fake’ illness. Not to mention the many tabloid stories surrounding all of the contestants, and the cringe-inducing VT of Frankie Cocozza’s bingy nights out.  Sounding like some twisted version of your chosen soap yet?

Now of course the latest news in regards to Frankie Cocozza is that he’s been kicked off the show – or he left, we aren’t really quite sure yet. All we do know is that he broke one of the X Factor‘s  ’golden rules’. My money (and it seems everyone else’s too) is on Frankie taking drugs. A while ago there were stories of him bragging about his drug useage before entering the competition, but it seems he’s gone back to bragging, now to members of the production team about using cocaine. If you’re to believe the Sun, which we probably shouldn’t in all fairness. Still, I never liked the guy from day one – not at all talented, seemed very cocky and sure of himself in a way that was not at all endearing, and the worst part is he had girls lusting after him because of his ‘bad boy’ image, an image which should have been downplayed for a family show, rather than encouraged as it seemed to be in the VT a few weeks back which showed him drinking a lot, and pulling clearly insecure women.

I could probably write a whole post on how annoying this guy is. Photo Credit: video.stv.tv

Admittedly, in a way you have to feel bad for the guy. To feel the need to go out and get hammered all the time says a lot about your security and self-worth. I feel like I aged about 10 years just typing that sentence, but I do believe it. It probably didn’t help getting boo’s from the audience after his performances, but c’mon – they really were awful. The guy got shoved into the limelight which he seemed to relish, and flew too close to the sun and got burned. Whether he bowed out of the show, or was kicked off – it’s clearly for the best.

So with bickering judges, failing ratings, and only one or two diamonds in the rough, does X Factor really stand a chance of getting any better this year? I doubt it. One thing I know for sure though, is that it’d probably be better for Mr Cowell to scrap the show next year, because the American counterpart is a lot more entertaining, and has a lot more talent – they do need to trade in Steve Jones for our beloved Dermot O’Leary, though. Ideally of course, all of these entertainment shows would see an end in the next few years, and as Christmas nears us, I can only assume that yet again the people will rise up and vote another ‘anti-establishment’ song in at number one over the X Factor winner’s dross that gets released each year.

All perceptions of the man himself aside, many forget that Michael Jackson gave a lot of his vast fortune to charity – something that organiser of Thrill The World Portsmouth, Grace Levy, is sure to drum home with the event.

Held on Saturday 29^th, Thrill The World is a world-wide event with 250 countries involved. At 3pm (GMT), all over the world people dance to the 1984 hit ‘Thriller’, preferably dressed up as zombies similar to the classic music video. This event is for charity, and Portsmouth’s first Thrill The World event was raising money and awareness for Headway Portsmouth and SE Hants, a charity which helps local people who have suffered serious head and brain injuries.

Read the whole article here…

Pumpkin Stud Earrings, Accessorize – were £2.50, now just 75p!

Pumpkin Studs from Accessorze

These adorable pumpkin earrings are probably pretty hard to get hold of as they’re such a cheap price, but there are tonnes of similar ones online, such as these. They’re a great touch to a Halloween costume, and have a great home made look about them that really works. Click the picture to be linked to the Accessorize website to buy!

Nomskull, ShinyShack.com – £9.99

Nomskull Cupcake Mould from ShinyShack

The Nomskull is a brilliant idea – I love baking cupcakes, so I was bound to fall in love with this. Basically, you pour your cake mix in to the mould, cook it, then ice the cake with squiggly pink icing to create braaiiiins. Along with this brilliant gift, Lily Vanilli’s ‘A Zombie Ate My Cupcake‘  is the perfect accompaniment for making creepy cupcakes!

Zombie Bootcamp Experience, Asda-Gifts – £59

Zombie Bootcamp from Asda Gift Experiences

Did you know that the supermarket Asda did gift experiences? Me neither – but after a quick and rather unimaginitive Google search (‘Halloween gifts’), I encountered this gift idea. The experience is described as:

“Take on the Living Dead with this fun, exciting and unforgettable Zombie Bootcamp Experience. Under the guidance of expert military instructors you’ll learn how to use a variety of weapons, before clearing out a warehouse full of live zombies. You’ll discover pure adrenaline as you spray the zombie hordes with blood balls, use simulate grenades and fight these monsters hand to hand. Remember – Zombies do not take prisoners!”

How awesome does that sound?! Click the picture for more information.

Michael Myers Plush Toy, Bobbleheads UK – £13.99

Michael Myers Plush from Bobbleheads UK

These Funko plushes are great. My boyfriend has the Freddy Krueger one (available from the same website), and the Michael Myers one makes a perfect gift for Halloween! They’re great quality plushes (no threads coming loose or stuffing falling out), and they’re oddly adorable  - in their own way.

Life size Gummy Heart, American Sweets.co.uk – £9.99

Gummy Heart from American Sweets

Having a Halloween  party over the weekend? How about tricking your guys by pulling this through your shirt and chowing down? This cheery flavoured life size gummy heart will probably be best shared seeing as it’s quite hefty. There’s also a gummy brain available on the site, which is bubblegum flavour – yum!

So, it doesn’t have to just be Christmas and Birthdays where you can treat your friends, family – or even yourself to a gift. There is a whole host of brilliant Halloween gifts which are serious contenders to the boring paper decorations and cheesy fake blood options which can make Halloween a lazy holiday.