Plain Jane - My New Fave Show

Behold!!! I think I may have unearthed a new TV gem! After being a huge hit across the pond, Plain Jane is a show that takes a girl who lacks confidence and a proper fashion sense and introduces her to some confidence techniques including some extreme sports and adrenaline-pumping activities such as bungee jumping and even swimming with sharks. They are also each given brand new makeovers consisting of a shopping trip, a brand new wardrobe as well as a fancy new hairdo.  However, it does not stop there as it turns out that each girl has a secret crush that they are keen to impress, unbeknownst to him of course. After the makeover, they are set up on a blind date in an exotic location in which the girl gets the opportunity to showcase her brand new look and now has the opportunity to utilise her new-found dating skills and self-confidence in order to try and impress him and see where things go from there. Sounds very exciting indeed! Already an addict! I am also quite appalled that I had never heard of the show before! It is more than a makeover show and takes the girls on a journey of self-discovery and helps them find their own identity rather than being something completely gratuitous and consisting of just going shopping.

The show is hosted by Brit-based-in-LA fashion journalist, TV presenter, star of The City and all-round fashionista Louise Roe who shows off an impressive, enviable wardrobe during the show. My new style icon I think. Eclectic, laid-back, and very bright - she sure loves her colour and prints. Think the LA/ California girl bohemian chic mixed with the edginess of London style.
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I WANT YOUR WARDROBE!!!

Some of my favourite Louise Roe outfits:

Love, love LOVE this purple coat!!!!

The X Factor Judges Houses - The Round Up

After a very tough boot camp, the X Factor went global as the 32 finalists flew across many exotic locations from LA to Miami, Greece to Barcelona, all over the world in a last attempt to make it to the live finals. But this was no vacation, it was strictly straight down to business as their fate was hanging by a thread! Some would make the cut, for others it was the next plane home and the competition ended there and then for the contestants. So get ready, for tears, talent, guest judges, singing, hearts being smashed into pieces and then more tears as we round up all the exotic drama as the X Factor goes global. There were many big shocks along the way, but the biggest shock of all I must say was Sinitta being dressed a lot more conservatively?! Not sure what happened there. Maybe she wasn't quite in the mood? Or couldn't be bothered?

Barcelona...

I was right after all! Louis had put Goldie through but she later dropped out and we learnt that she had been replaced by Sami. Also sad that Terry didn't make it through to the next round as I felt he delivered a good enough performance, but I suppose that's how the cookie crumbles. Goldie put in a rather eccentric performance of J.Lo's On the Floor, which was very baffling indeed. She would have been a complete nightmare to mentor so maybe it was a blessing. Or a curse? This was the last we ever saw of her. On the plus side, Jonjo made it through to Louis's final four. Despite being a bag of nerves, he showed tonnes of potential and could be the dark horse of the competition if he finds a way to control his nerves. It was to my utter surprise that Louis had chosen Kitty as he previously mentioned she would be a nightmare to mentor!! Well let's just see how the cookie crumbles on this one!!

LA...

Over in La La Land, Robbie Williams joined Gary in a LA in which he took a leaf out of Sinitta's book (or wardrobe in this case) and made an, ahem, 'grand entrance'. Anyways, it was down to serious business though as the boys were required to sing in order to win a place in the final. Unfortunately, Luke Lucas fell at the last hurdle as he proved to be struggling with his song choice. Despite showing oodles of potential in the first round of auditions, the pressure got too much it wasn't enough to get him through and he was sent home. Gutted about John though - second time unlucky.He was clearly a better singer than Frankie.  James was also a surprise, but I'm glad Craig got through. He'll go far in the competition. Glad Marcus got through, I was really routing for him as he absolutely smashed it. Not too sure about Frankie though. He seems to care more about getting laid then being a popstar. Maybe he should be on the Playboy channel instead of The X Factor...

Miami...

Over at Kelly's house in Miami where she was joined by Oscar-winner and American Idol alumni Jennifer Hudson with the girls. The X Factor became the Shock Factor when Jade failed to make it through and I would like to take this time to show my disdain. She should have went through! She has a beautiful voice! Someone who I never expected to get through was Sophie?! Still not too sure what to make of this but we will have to see whether she will prove to be a dark horse in the competition. Glad Amelia got through where she killed it with her rendition of E.T. Imagine if she and Katy Perry did a duet in the final?! Sick!!!!!!!!!!! No wait. Katy who?! Misha also impressed with her sassy appeal waiting to steal Jennifer's crown. Janet also made it through but needs to come out of her shell a bit! I reckon there are some serious contenders in the Girls category!!!! The heat is on!!!

Greece...

And the award for the most underwhelming category this year goes to .... *drum roll* the Groups. After a lot of mumbling and jumbling at boot camp, the final four were selected. But the jumbling didn't stop there after two lacklustre performances from The Keys and The Risk as Tulisa decided to take a risk of her own as she took the lead singer of The Keys and three fifths of The Risk and created a new group, retaining the name The Risk.  Slightly worrying as it may deter groups from trying out next year. But with the roaring success of One Direction it could work out beautifully. Two Shoes made it as did Nu Vibe and Rhythmix.

And as for the BIG TWIST...

Wonder what it could be...

• Another wild card where a few of the previous contestants are brought back and given a second chance to perform in the live finals?
• The return of Simon Cowell or a fifth judge?
• One of the finalists being eliminated before the finals even begin?

We shall have to wait and see. Exciting though...

One step forward, a million steps back....

Just because I am not who you think I should be, what you want me to be, with who you think I should be with, does that mean I should be dead? That I should be slandered? That I’m not worthy of a life?  Do I deserve to take my own life? Am I not worthy of having a happy existence? After reading a few recent news stories, including the one below, I felt prompted to write another blog post and express how I really feel...

Heartbreaking! 14-Year-Old It Gets Better Vlogger Commits Suicide

This story brought a tear to my eye. My condolences go out to Jamey's friends and family. One of the most heart-breaking things about our society is the inability to accept each other for who we are. Teenagers and young people are receiving abuse, taunts and death threats and even being made homeless because of their sexual orientation. I think this is totally ridiculous and therefore, something needs to be said AND done about it!

As a former victim of bullying during my teen years, I know exactly how it feels to be alienated and have feelings of self-loathe and low levels of confidence. Why does it feel we are going backwards instead of forwards in terms of accepting each other for who we are or what we are? Why is society still so ignorant and narrow-minded about all of this? Why are we continuously being judged by the colour of the skin or the person who we are in love with? We are NOT defined by the skin colour or sexual orientation – in my opinion, skin colour does NOT define a person in any way. And neither does sexual orientation. Just because someone decides to go to bed with or fall in love with someone of the same sex, that should by no means make them seem like a bad person.  It has no relevance or makes no difference. Love has no limits; it’s the personality of the person that matters.

I am not one to discriminate against anyone. In fact, this reminds me of how black people suffered a lot of prejudice and struggled to find work because they were judged by the colour of the skin rather than skills and abilities, so what gives us the right to be homophobic and frown upon gay people? I firmly believe that gay culture should be celebrated rather than frowned upon. 

Judging a person doesn't define who they are, it defines who you are. Bullying is still a major topic that needs as much attention brought to it as possible. So many innocent and precious lives could have been saved with a ZERO tolerance on bullying. Don't turn your cheek on someone being bullied. It takes a very weak person to bully and an even stronger person to stick up for that person who needs your help.

If you ARE being bullied on the other hand, it's okay to get help and speak up about your issues. It's better to face the truth than live a lie. If anything, it's bound to save your life. There's more to you then just your orientation. Remember it is our differences that give us our identity. 

With positive LGBT role models, including Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John and Lady Gaga, we hope to see positive changes. With gay marriage being legalised in New York City, we hope people can be comfortable in their own sexuality and not have to live in denial.