Lauren takes on the queen

I know some people liked the previous blog of Catherine Tate Show video with Tony Blair.

I post another one this time from The Royal Variety Show where lauren takes on the queen.

(tak, tak... scetch z zycia mlodziezy w UK...) enjoy!!!

Well done Mr Fresnadillo!

Do you know that feeling in a cinema when people jump in their seats when the atmosphere of a movie gets a bit too tense? Exactly that happened yesterday when I was watching truly breathtaking masterpiece of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo"28 Weeks Later". Although the movie differs a lot from the previous part "28 days later", it is another great piece definitely worth spending money on. And believe me you won't fall asleep even during a night session in a cinema.

To be absolutely honest the movie was to me a bit like a mixture of "Children of Men", "Resident Evil 2" with a strong connection to "28 Days Later", however if someone hasn't seen it still will be perfectly fine to understand the human extinction in London and deadly "rage" virus spreading in London.

Great camera work and special effects as well as some ideas we didn't see in " 28 Days Later"
Also Robert Carlyle as you haven't seen him yet in any movie, I promise! Definitely worth seeing!
I rate it: KKKKK :-)

A students take

It must be that time of the year when probably every and each of us becomes similar to a kind of creature called: zombie...or feel like one. May/June is always a busy time filled with assessments and deadlines. Everyone is rushing to get things done and on the other hand can't wait for them to be over.
Have been talking with my housemates recently and we've been wondering why all the deadlines have to have the same or similar date... We thought if it could be possible to arrange deadlines a in a bit different way. For example a deadline per month? So we could concentrate just on one task and probably learn more, not just rush to get it done... What do you think? I should be a lot easier for teachers to check our work too as everything wouldn't arrive on them at one day...
Good luck everyone! (2 days to go for us!)

Tony going with a smile...

Considering that most of politicians are not willing to smile ...not even mentioning about cracking a joke, most of us probably couldn't believe own eyes seeing Tony Blair on Catherine Tate Show. Tony Blair who has just officially announced he's resigning from his position of the prime minister has just probably signed himself up as one of the "coolest" politicians in history.
Is Mr Blair just trying to create his "cool" image on the way out from the government or is this really his true nature?

There is an episode from Catherine Tate Show.

Re:"Victoria and David hit Hollywood"

Have left a comment on another blog called: "The world according to me" run by my classmate Dani. Her post was about Channel 5 programme called 'Victoria and David Beckham hit Hollywood.' The idea of the program was to see how well the Beckhams are known in USA and to see how their arriving would be received.

Must say all the hustle about Beckhams in just a waste of time to me. Or another way to make more money by them by moving, changing clubs (Beckham), having children?(I bet they sell their photos quite well..) Now they're planning to move to the States... UK is not enough anymore, is it?
Here is the link to my comment.

Buddhist Anarchism

Quite recently I've come across an interesting blog called: "Buddhist Anarchism". The blog is run by five people writing about spiritual matters, alchemy and Buddhism.

Each and every of these writers have their own history and experiences that they share on the blog. "Buddhist Anarchism" has also a lot of links about theory and practice of Buddhism as well as links to other Buddhist blogs.

Some of the blogs present the experiences from India and Tibet which makes the blog a very good, nice read.

Click here to visit "Buddhist Anarchism" blog.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Vs Danny Boyle

I think it's going to be an expensive month! There is so many new movies to see! One of them is obviously "28 Weeks Later" directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. "28 Weeks Later" is a continuation to "28 Days Later" (directed by Danny Boyle). As "28 Days Later" has become a classic in the British cinema, there is a lot be expected from Mr Fresnadillo.
Can't wait to find out myself if the new movie of Fresnadillo has really reached the standards of brilliant "28 Days Later". "28 Weeks Later is a cutting edge, stylish thriller which is even more tense and character driven than its predecessor" I read in one of reviews... We'll see, we'll see..
Here is a trailer for "28 Weeks Later". The movie in cinemas on 11 May.

Tesco pays out £8 million!

Remember the beginning of the year when "contaminated fuel panic" reached every forecourt in the South-East of the UK? Well, if your car suddenly stopped working or had something strange happening under the bonnet, filling up with fuel at one of Tesco's or Morrison garages may have been the reason for it.

In a result Tesco has just paid out £8 million to reimburse about 18,000 victims (...cars), mostly in the South-East. The supermarket giant had to set up a special help-line for the people who complained or had problems with cars.

Mind you, that's probably the most common result for supermarkets giants when they try to save up money on not having enough staff or cutting out on some deliveries. So empty shelves with some products, massive queues to checkouts on Sunday afternoons, no towels or gloves on the forecourt - where do we know it from..? May be it would be better for Tesco to change the fuel storage company for a more trusted one? Together with code of practice as it seems like there are some serious misunderstandings too...

"This Is England"

This is going to be the movie of the year 2007: "This Is England" directed by brilliant Shane Meadows. After seeing his "Dead Man's Shoes", "Once Upon A Times In Midlands", I am more than sure that my first statement will be right.

The movie has already won the title of Best British Independent Films at the BIFA awards.
The story takes place in 1983 when a young boy who meets a local gang of skinheads and they become his closest friends. The main character of Shaun played by Thomas Turgoose is based on Meadows own experiences.

Enjoy the trailer for "This Is England" by Shane Meadows.

No place for Polish Constitution of May 3rd?

I'm writing here a bit disappointed, to be honest. May 3rd is considered to be one of the greatest days for Poland and Polish history in general, but it seems to be hugely ignored by most of main Polish websites.

May 3rd is an official bank holiday in Poland as on that day in 1971 The Constitution (of May 3) was established introducing major changes in the country. The Constitution introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility and placed the peasants under the protection of the government. It has also influenced later democratic movements.

The Constitution is generally recognized as Europe's first modern codified national constitution, as well as the second-oldest national constitution in the world.

I want to pay the attention here to Polish http://www.onet.pl/, oh... sorry, what a mistake! It's not onet.PL anymore - it has become: onet.EU and it doesn't mentions about May 3rd at all!

Instead onet.eu brings current news from abroad totally knocking down the most important news from Poland. Frankly, visiting onet.eu you won't find anything on what is going on in your mother country, you will read about: the local elections in England, Wales and Scotland; about life abroad, and the current gossips about The Royal Family...

Hmmm...don't get me wrong, I'm keen on what's going on in the UK, but I would like read about it on the British websites.

What's onet.eu on about these days? and who (from Polish people) would like to read about life in different countries when they live elsewhere? It's in a matter of interest only.

My dear Onet.eu... well done for following the current news abroad (especially the UK), but how we...I mean these people who live abroad can make use of visiting you? Yes...yes I know and I remember: May 3rd the local elections in England... but I wanted to be reminded about something from Polish history too...especially on this day.

May 3rd Constitution (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). King Stanisła August(left, in ermine-trimmed cloak), enters St. John's Cathedral, where Sejm deputies will swear to uphold the new Constitution; in the background, Warsaw's Royal Castle, where the Constitution had just been adopted.

"Blitzkrieg 4" wants you!

I'm pleased to hear that VADER's (one of the leading Polish death metal bands) "Impressions in Blood" album entered the Polish national chart at position No. 8.

The band's video for the song "Helleluyah (God Is Dead)" has been posted online at YouTube.com. The clip was shot with director Andrzej Wyrozebski, who is said to be one of the leading movie producers in Poland. Janusz Król (known from the Polish fantasy movie "Wiedzmin") was responsible for all special effects and the whole set design. Slawomir Panasewicz (who has worked on over 140 video clips!) was a cameraman.

The band has also announced the tour for Blizkrieg 4 - Polish death metal festival. It starts September 27 in Warsaw, ends October 10 in Lodz. The guests bands are Brazil's KRISIUN, Greece's ROTTING CHRIST and American death metallers INCANTATION. The bands are touring in most of cities throughout Poland.

More details should be soon available from Kerrang!, Terrorizer, Metal Hammer so keep your ears...err.. eyes.. open!

"...like something out of Apocalipse Now"

It is interesting to follow up Guardian's features on British front line in Afghanistan. Declan Walsh presents six-page photo special from the two weeks he spent with British troops in Helmand, Afghanistan.

"I curled into a ball as an Afghan fighter tried to blast open the jeep I was travelling with a rocked-propelled grenade. I interviewed a corporal from Newcastle as he soaped himself in an outdoor shower. I played touch rugby on a helicopter landing zone. And I watched life of ebb from the chalky limbs of a wounded young British soldier as sweating medics desperately tried to save him."

Walsh's description paints very real picture. The photographs in the feature are brilliant too showing troops in action as well as the time of relax. As the main British base Camp Bastion reminds more of a pub, soldiers sitting inside enjoy wide screen TV, wooden furniture, but not the beer. All what is missing is beer. Instead they suck on warm Pepsi or "brew" and tuck in some "scoff". Quickly kicked out from the base, they travel across the desert to join artillery positions under Taliban fire. The ground shudders under heavy artillery weapons killing even some more of other kind of deadly enemy of any soldier: tarantulas, scorpions and camel spiders.

Click here to read the whole feature.

Just 2 months and its all over...

Caption under the picture says:"Man, I could kill a human right now!"

Smoking has always been part of our pub culture, however from 1st July everything is going to change as smoking ban comes into force on 1st July in England.

It is now illegal to smoke in workplaces, most enclosed public spaces and on public transport in The Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the same is going to occur in the southern part of the UK.

We all know how toxic is cigarette smoke and how non-smokers can quite easily breathe it in pubs and other public places.

I don't smoke myself but personally cannot imagine a pub without the smell of cigarettes...actually I think I would even miss that. I am absolutely aware that it's a major step forward in the protection of public health, with smoke-free environments contributing to cleaner air as well as healthier environments, but come on...it's a part of a culture... Personally, it's hard for me to believe that on 1st July I will not see a single smoker in a pub... or are they all going to have popping outside for a cigy? will that be considered as a kind of a public meeting too? or may be just take chairs outside together with a pint if there is OK to smoke? pub? yes under a blue sky...

"Not in society interest.."

I've read in The Guardian from April 27 how the European parliament in Strasbourg is calling Polish leaders for more robust action on discrimination and hatred based on sexual orientation - (sponsored by socialists, liberals and greens but largely opposed by conservatives).

Poland's prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, rejected EU criticism of a ban on "homosexual propaganda" in schools, saying that: "It was not in society's interests to increase the number of gay people."

However, since Mr Jaroslaw Kaczynski(the prime minister) and his twin brother Lech(the president) have taken over the government in Poland...we are talking about a kind of dictatorship...

EU parliament vote earlier in the day in which MEPs called for a fact-finding mission to the country to investigate recent anti-gay comments by senior officials.

Yes, please go and visit Poland and find out yourself how is it really like to live under hugely dominating catholic values, anti-abortion and anti-gay rights and how Polish schools are being made to introduce compulsory lessons on catholic religion for children...

This year the education minister, Roman Giertych, the leader of the League of Polish Families, said "one must limit homosexual propaganda so that children won't have an improper view of family." "Homosexual propaganda"? - does anything like that even exist? or maybe we are talking here about a fear of not freedom of speech and thought?

You ban gay parades and love parades for no logical reason, you create mutual laws based on fear and disrespect of opinions of others. Poland may have joined the EU, but it will still take long to reintroduce a different way of thinking in the Polish society.
Unemployment percentage may be dropping, but isn't it because young people are leaving for different countries in a search for a "normal" life where they could be working and enjoy living?

Why is it that Polish prime minister and his brother always reject criticism...what about listening to some of it and trying to learn?

Shameful...shameful Mr Kaczynski & Co... what else can I say... See you when you're older!

German army racist video row

So here we go again... Another racist issue, another racist video... Will people ever change?
I am writing here about international news from Sat 14 April on BBC website "German army in 'racist video' row".
We read about some of the methods instructors teach the soldiers in the army. The African-Americans in the Bronx, are used as targets of hate and aggression by the soldiers and their instructor. And involving or creating the feelings of hate and anger the soldiers has here psychological aim...but will it ever go away?

I am not surprised that New York officials are a bit angry..and demand an apology...but will it be enough? Are the soldiers going to apologize and get back to the training using different nation as their target..? All these men on the training are supposed to swear, fire their gun to their "target practice".
Obviously we all know that feeling of anger and danger brings extra power to a human being, however why direct or teach to hate one particular nation..?

Have heard many controversial stories about my country's army (the Polish army), it seems clear now that military officials face difficult task of fighting with racism and it is probably all around the world...
Now a group of 18 German army instructors are on trial accused of abusing and humiliating recruits during training in 2004. However, the video comes from July 2006.

So we are the second generation?

This time I am going to write a few words about 'Web 2.0', a phase used by 'O'Reilly Media' in 2004. According to Tim O'Reilly, the establisher of O'Reilly Media, Web 2.0 is another step in transformation of World Wide Web. A quick evolution of Internet systems and developing social networking have made a great impact on the Internet itself and as Mr Reilly notices "new exciting sites and application pop up with surprising regularity." In that way a new business model of Web 2.0 was designed.

There are some characteristic points about Web 2.0 like: "the web as a platform" where the standart bearer is Google.
In terms of other "changes" from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 O'Reilly notify:
Double Click (from Web 1.0) to Google AdSense (Web 2.0), mp3.com to Napster, Britannica Online to Wikipedia, personal websites to blogging, page views to cost per click.
You can find out more about Web 2.0 from O'Reilly's website by clicking here.

I just have come across a blog that I had a chance of viewing some time ago... It's "The Policeman's Blog". The writer for this blog is David Copperfield, I suppose so, as there is no section "about me" or I couldn't find it. Mr Copperfield seems to be one of these people who are not afraid to speak aloud (or write "aloud")...what he thinks.
The coppers blog expect provides many comments from an ordinary life of a policeman, as well as huge section of different links to US Police blogs, Police Chefs blogs, Military blogs and so on the list is incredible...so you can find out a lot about different jobs and what they are about.
It would be probably a very useful site (or one of favourites) for someone who works or is interested in this kind of industry.
There is also a possibility to order a couple of books by Mr Copperfield or may be use "All UK Police Jobs" link - an add by Google. All of this possible on the blog as well as finding some alternative answers for current issues like "What's the answer to crime?" - "Chop their hands off", and yes we know that IS what you wanted to say Mr. Copperfield...

Give me some fuel!

As many of you may know... I am one of the lucky people to work at a petrol garage and believe me... there is a lot of funny situations to be able to see... most of them funny, some of them scary...There is one I qualify as...funny.
PS. Obviously did not mean to offence any of female drivers etc, in fact it's men who make the most of funny mistakes! have fun!

Hello everybody!
It's been quite a break from posting quite recently...I have been visiting (quite frequently) a nice website, some of you may have heard of: reed.co.uk
The site is very useful if you have to or need to find a job...like I have to do right now.
The design is very straight forward and it's really easy to find the categories you you are interested in and may be able to get a job. Actually, I've been surprised that site is so well organised and you can find all sort of permanent, temp, full and part-time jobs.
All you have to do is to sign up with Reed and upload your CV onto the site. If you wanna apply for a position - simply click on it. The descriptions are usually very good. Then you have a chance to write on-line covering letter, Reeds also does the spelling-check for you - so don't worry! You also get an email sent to you with a confirmation that your application has been sent to the organisation you applied for.
Reed.co.uk is definitely a useful website, however it takes ages for the organisations you sent your application to email you back...so you end up waiting a looong time before they sent you the common letter: "Thank you for applying for... unfortunately...." Yeah OK, does it really take so long to let you know?

Looking for anything great to do for the summer? What about some of this year's festivals? There is a lot to see...
Also a small map of what & where... have fun!

Starting again

Burnthebridges now open... !!