This Is The Best Day Ever

The day is Sunday the 22nd July 2012... the weather is sunny and hot and some 100+ My Chemical Romance fans have descended on the Jubilee gardens along Southbank at Waterloo, London. Some fans came dressed as Killjoys and some Black Paraders others came in mcr t-shirts and there was a dinosaur too :).

Some awesome tank tops!

The organizer Caz had arrived with a suitcase full of merch for a raffle and began selling raffle tickets, there were cupcakes and an array of others things for sale.

Many fans mingled and chatted to others, some stayed in little groups of people. Someone had made a revenge teddy bear pinata which got bashed to smithereens within 10 minutes!

Throughout the day I went around selling cupcakes I had made trying to raise as much money as I could for SING it for japan (a charity My Chemical Romance are linked too). Many others had other things for sale. Someone was selling bullets themed necklaces and there were some lovley canvases and laminated drawings from the different MCR era's which looked amazing and I had to buy one for myself :).

As the time drew close to 3pm, the raffle time a large group of us were all standing around with some fans who brought their guitars and basses singing mcr song's all together. Here's a little taster of one :).

Many fans won prizes int he raffle including myself, which there was an option of 3 signed posters, and a range of mcr t-shirts. After the raffle there was a small auction for a MCR signed poster and the original ghost drawing that Gerard had sent Caz to to say thank you for organizing this event!

There were a few fans at the event that had My Chemical Romance and MCR related tattoo's! (Pictures at the bottom of the blog)

All together we raised an amazing £2,012 ($3,143.26) for SING it for japan and Make a wish foundation! WELL DONE GUYS & GALS!

THREE CHEERS FOR 10 YEARS! UK MCRmy!

Some of the amazing My Chemical Romance Tattoo's from the day:

Sing For The World

The Demolition Lovers

Helena

The White Violin from The Umbrella Academy

Famous Last Words Lyrics

Review of Dark Shadows

So here's my first movie review! This review is for the latest Tim Burton movie that hit cinema screens on Friday 11th May 2012. I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere and wait around in the cold for almost 12 hours, but it was worth it. I got to meet the legendary Tim Burton & his gorgeous partner and actress Helena Bonham Carter along with the likes of Jackie Earle Haley & Johnny Depp for the second time.

Anyway... moving on... I'm now going to rate the film... I would first like to give it a rating of 3 and half stars compared to other reviews I read 3 and half is a reasonable rating. Some may agree, some may disagree, everybody is different. I will try not to give too much away.

Let's start of this review with a character review... starting with Barnabas Collins portrayed by Johnny Depp. Depp is famous for his unusual roles and in my opinion has always played these characters extremely well. In the words of Tim Burton 'Depp is like a chameleon' and I have to agree. His role as Vampire Barnabas Collins is acted with precision. His character provides a comical side as he tries to adapt to life of the 1970's and adjusting to the modern life that his family leads. I have always found Depp an attractive man and brilliant actor, I have seen him in many films and he always pulls me into his character... I seem to forget this man playing different characters each time is real as he makes his characters feel real. I must say Depp as a reluctant vampire is sexy! (Not true blood sexy. Twilight is not sexy, sorry). Depp has always provided a excellent performance in al his roles to suit everybody's taste.
Depp's performance I rate 4 and half stars.

Up next Dr Julia Hoffman portrayed by Burton's other half, Helena Bonham Carter. I'm quite surprised that her character only has a small role... not the smallest but her character I found was quite short lived. I found that rather disappointing as I enjoyed her character very much. A drunk psychiatrist who always is hungover or has a whiskey or brandy in her hand. Bonham Carter plays Dr Hoffman beautifully providing character and fun to the film.

Bonham Carter's performance I rate 4 stars.

As a final single character review I'm going to focus on the delectable Eva Green who plays the role of Jealous Witch Angelique Bouchard.

I have mixed views on Green's performance some parts I found good and entertaining and some parts I found wooden. Like I said before everybody has different views and I'm not saying that Eva Green is a terrible actress. In fact the opposite, her role as Morgan in Camelot is very enjoyable and dark. So the role of a witch is perfect for her! It's just that not all her scenes were great. She also adds comedy to the film with her storyline with Barnabas and she defiantly plays 'bunny boiler' extremely well. I kind of felt sorry for her that Barnabas will never love her and she truly loved him... but boy was she a bitch to his family!
Green's performance I rate 4 stars.

The other characters in the movie didn't have much focus, but you could understand their roles in the family. Jonny Lee Miller's character Roger Collins to me is a creepy perverted character who is also a bit a thieving bastard! His role was small and to be quite honest I found that was good for me. Miller's acting performance I cannot deny was very good although I cannot compare him to other roles he has played in other movies. I would rate him 3 stars. Chloë Grace Moretz's character Carolyn Collins I have to say was not great. She seemed to pull the same face all the time... like she was continuously pissed off and well with her scene at the end... I was like what the fuck!? I'm sorry Chloë but your performance I can only rate a 2 and half stars. Not going into too much detail now... but Michelle Pfeiffer's performance was good. The matriarch role suits her perfectly. Pfeiffer's performance 4 stars. Last but not least Jackie Earle Haley's role as caretaker Willie Loomis was very comical. I find Haley's performance funny and well the drunk acting... hilarious! Going from being the evil Freddie Kreuger to a brave, helpful, funny drunk, proves that Jackie is good at adapting to a different role well. Haley's performance 3 and half stars.

The movie itself started off a little slow but quickly picked up the pace when Barnabas was dug up after 196 years of being locked up in a coffin. Then the comical value kicked in throughout with all the different storylines setting in. Like I said without giving to much away you can defiantly tell it's a Tim Burton film as it screams quirkiness with light non-scary horror. The only truly not sure how it fits in part of the movie was the end... you'd have to see it to know what I mean... but don't get me wrong, I truly enjoyed the film and would see it again but it's something I'm not sure if I'd crazily recommend going to see it unless it's something you want to watch. For those who do choose to watch it you'll have your own views on it and may disagree with entirely! I love Tim Burton's films and this one is defiantly one I like even if I have mixed views!
Hope you enjoy the movie!

A True Hero

This guy I'm hugging is an absolute hero! Why? How? Who is he?

This is Matthew Leone, the bassist of Madina Lake a Chicago based band.

He risked his life to save a women from being beaten by her violent husband out in the streets of Chicago. Even though the guy was twice his size, Matthew intervened. He managed to subdue the guy for a second, and since his wife was beat up pretty good, Matthew called the cops. As he did so, the guy jumped him from behind and beat him. Afterward, he and his beaten wife left Matthew unconscious on the street.

He sustained severe injury's to his head. Matthew was in the hospital with a third of his skull removed as his twin brother Nathan and two band mates and friends Dan Torelli and Mateo Camargo waited for the swelling in his brain to go down.

The next picture shows the injury's he sustained, he was in and out of consciousness and as he slowly recovered he couldn't remember who people were at times...

The assault happened June 30th 2010 by September 2010 after months of recovering he picked up a bass for the first time.

It took him a year to get back on his feet and start playing again. The band recorded they're 3rd studio album World War 3 after they're EP The Dresden Codex which was released before the assault happened.

The wife of the man that beat her, dropped the charges against her husband and did not thank Matthew for his courage. He went into Cardiac Arrest at least 3 times when he was admitted to surgery. He nearly died. He had no insurance at the time so hospital bills were almost $500,000! Matthew had to work really hard with the band and the help of us fans to raise the money to pay for it. They never asked fans for the money, they fund-raised with charity auctions and a charity gig.

Matthew came back on tour with the rest of the guy's from Madina Lake in November 2011 where I got the chance to see him back doing what he loves! I met him after the show and told him he was a true hero and he always will be!

Before I go here's a lyrics video to Madina Lake's song 'We Got This' this song is about the assault that happened that night. Matthew Leone you will always be a hero in my eyes!

The War on Emo

I remember one important event that I believe started this 'war'... the journalist Sarah Sands in 2006 warned parents of Emo's. She called them a cult. In what way are emo's a cult?

That article was the most un-researched article I have ever read! Although I have never read the news paper, the daily mail is one I will never read. I'm a rock music fan myself. I was once called emo by people who were different to me, I liked to wear black skinny jeans, band skinny tees and wear eyeliner that made me look like a panda. Now i'm 21 i still sometimes wear them but the label of emo has long died out... we are ALTERNATIVE.

But prejudice towards the alternative kind has never stopped.

In 2007 a beautiful young women and her boyfriend were both beaten up by 'Chavs' (another label of modern society) just because they were goths. Sophie Lancaster was the young women who was beaten and she died of her injurys after being in a coma. Her boyfriend (Robert Maltby) was fortunate he recovered. The thing is this attack on the young couple was un-provoked. They were just walking home.

This just hasn't happened in England this war is all over the world. Mexico, Iraq, Russia, Armenia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia.

2008: Russia try to make being emo illegal. I'm thinking seriously! What the fuck? You want to stop people from listening to the music that they like and dressing in a style that they feel comfortable in? How fucking ridiculous! I have no idea if this law was passed, but i truly hope it didn't as you cannot stop people from being themselves, why should we conform to be something were not?

In Querétaro, Mexico '08, there were attacks on emo's. An estimated 800 people poured into the city, just to beat the crap out of these kids. The same thing happened a week later in Mexico City.

2010: People of alternative fashions in Egypt and Saudi Arabia were arrested for being 'emo'. While in Armenia police were employed to stop and searched and learn surveillance techniques against emo kids, as they 'damage the gene pool'.

2012: That's right this year, just a month ago in March 90 students in Iraq we killed just because of their emo style. They were stoned to death. Back in England a male teenager who listens to metal music, who lives not far from where Sophie Lancaster lived was beaten up and had clumps of hair pulled out, just for being 'different'.

This is just disgusting! Society in this world has become crazy! People who labelled as emo's you'll find aren't at all violent towards everyone else. They're just trying to live life the way they want. So what if they don't like to conform to normal fashions or want to listen to rap, r'n'b, pop, garage etc... what's the problem? Someone tell me cause i clearly can't see this. I admit that I don't always wear eyeliner or skinny jeans and band tees and yes I listen to some pop music but if you look at my music selection on my ipod the only pop you'll find is Lady Gaga, a small amount of Madonna, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry & a few more but the majority is rock & metal. My favourite bands are Madina Lake, My Chemical Romance, Aiden, My Passion and I have many more other bands I like on my ipod... Slipknot, Black Veil Brides, William Control, No Doubt etc... what's so wrong with liking something different?

Going back to Sarah Sand's article she warned parents about their kids self-harming, like it's some emo ritual to say be initiated into the emo scene. This is not the case. There is no ritual to be alternative. Ms. Sands claimed that Greenday & My Chemical Romance promoted self-harm! I have seen My Chemical Romance twice now and i remember very clearly when I saw them on their Black Parade tour at Wembley arena Gerard Way clearly stated 'If you feel depressed or suicidial, if you feel the need to harm yourself, then get help. Talk to someone, anyone, your family, your friends, anyone!' And once Frank Iero also in MCR had once said 'This band is here to save your life'. How the fuck does that promote self-harm?

None of there lyrics says 'yeh let's go self harm cause we're all emo!' No. They make music cause it's there passion. They influence listeners, help them through the shit times in their life. It happened to me, I have some shit times in my life from my dad being seriously ill with cancer, to then going to Iraq once he was given the all clear, being verbally bullied at school. I became very depressed and there were times where I wanted to kill myself. I didn't take medication to help me, I had my music. I had My Chemical Romance & Madina Lake they helped me get through these times along with actually spending time talking to someone how I felt.

These bands have been through shit too, so they make music as a form of expression as well as a passion. They have also been bottled at festivals just because their labelled as an emo band. Panic! at the disco's Brendan Urie was knocked unconscious after being bottled at Reading 2006. Once he recovered he didn't run away, he got back up and finished their set. The same of MCR a swarm of bottles were aimed at them at Reading... they played their set including the words 'Fuck The Daily Mail' just to show that they weren't going to take any shit from some writer who didn't do her research. This just proves that alternative can't be broken.

Also in 2007 a young 13 year old Hannah Bond, according a coroner commited suicide. She was a My Chemical Romance fan. So surprise, surprise! Guess who got the blame in 2008 for being a suicide cult?

Yes, My Chemical Romance, so then the daily mail wrote yet another article 'Why no child is safe from the sinister cult of emo' Although this article had slightly more accurate information, it went on to pin Good Charlotte and blink 182 as 'emo' bands.

My Chemical Romance and many other 'emo' bands are Anti-violence and Anti-Suicide. To show how much fans wanted to prove this a peaceful protest was held in London. Although I did not attend (although I wanted too) I believe we put the point across to the daily mail but unfortunately not the world.

You may try and hurt this so called cult, bring it down, but emo isn't it a cult it's an army and it grows stronger everyday but the label emo i believe is dying out we're not goths, emo's, mosher, metal heads... we are ALTERNATIVE and WE ARE NEVER GOING AWAY.

Anyone reading this whether your of alternative or not just take a minute to stop and think... we are all HUMAN BEINGS! We all have different cultural beliefs, different styles, different interests. I don't go round tracking down people who like rap etc just to beat them up because they're different to me, because I can ACCEPT and RESPECT that people are different. This is why I'm training to be nurse in some ways, I respect other peoples opinions, values, style, religion (and the fact I've always wanted to a caring career in medicine without becoming a doctor :p)

I know some may not agree with what i've said and I do not wish to cause any offence but I hope this opens your eyes to what's happening and maybe if you just took a minute to get to know someone who happens to be different to you, you may find they're a really nice person.

Never judge a book by it's cover.

Finally I would like to say R.I.P to all those who have been victims to unprovoked crimes just because they were different.