BEDA #12: Follow Friday

Tonight is not a good night for blogging. I’d love to get stuck in, but I have a ridiculous headache that won’t go away, brought on by derby practice tonight. I also have rink rash (yes, it’s a thing), and a lovely new blister on my foot.  I am clearly falling slowly to pieces. So why not follow the Auld Reekie Roller Girls, the underlying cause of all this damage!

Our All-Star team have a bout tomorrow against the Rainy City Rollergirls. It’s going to be epic. Come!

GOREonation Street

BEDA #11: Things I love Thursday: The internet

Pinterest

The internet fills me with such joy. Only on the internet can you find the amazing mix of ridiculous opinions, serious words, naked people and animals in one handy place. Just a glance at my Google Reader shows more information than I ever thought myself capable of taking in a year ago. It has changed the way we view the world, the way we process information, the way we engage with and digest culture and so much more. I have a giant lady crush on the internet.

Here are my internet loves:

- MTLRD’s New Skids on the Block.

- Cuteroulette: like Chatroulette, but with cute animals.

- Omnomnom.com

-  Nic Cage As Everyone.

-  Lesbians who look like Justin Bieber

- Kim Jong Il looking at things

BEDA #10: Photo Blog: Anarchy in the UK

This is the part where I wish the photos I had taken this weekend were less silly and more legit. Most of mine are of my friends pulling faces, wearing odd clothing, or documenting derby bruises.
See?

Bus reward, at Power Ballad Cafe

An actual body type

Montreal Roller Derby: Derby Heroes.

 

And if you’d prefer pictures taken by a grown up, you can go here!

 

BAD BEDA #9: Megabus plus Roller Derby = no posting

So I didn’t blog this weekend, but I promise, I have an excuse.

I spent the majority of my weekend either on a bus or in a windowless sweaty warehouse. Surprisingly, it was also one of the best weekends of my life.

I went to see Anarchy in the UK, the first ever Eurpoean WFTDA sanctioned roller derby tournament. It was ridiculously good, and I spent the weekend cheering for Montreal, my new derby heroes.
Here is their promo video for the 2011 season. It says everything you need to know about why they rule.

 

 

Blog Every Day April #8: Follow Friday

 

Source: madeit.com.au via Mary Claire on Pinterest

 Image via Pinterest

Quick post today, as I am super busy getting ready to head to London tonight!

For Follow Friday, I’d like to shout out to all the lovely people doing Blog Every Day April with me!

They are as follows!

Amy: Just Me
Andrea: Annie, I think
Autumn: Autumn has fallen
Becky: Life in Denim and Flip Flops
Blake Winters: Reptiles of the Mind
Carrie: Eo rus
Christina: The Library, the Universe and Everything
Emily: Emily’s Blog
Gretchen: This Viking Speaks Spanish
Katie: Dynamite with a Laser Beam
Laura: The Usherette
leanneef: Lose Pounds, Save Pennies
Lisa: Adventures in College
Manda: Life Through the View of a Curly Queue
Michael: Apples and Oranges
Nate: genius is the fire that lights itself
Nicola: Nicola/ @robotnic
Richard S: Clutterbuck
SEJL: SEJL
Terry: MN Daily Queer
Tianna: AccioPencil

 

I hope you are looking forward to the weekend.  I will be photoblogging  from Anarchy in the UK! What are you up to?

Blog Every Day April #6: Things I Love Thursday: The Little Things

I am a big fan of the little things. So much of our day is spent getting where we really want to be, squeezing in the things that take importance in our life that it often make us forget what we love about the things we really value. If I am feeling down, I generally just try and take a step back from whatever is stressing me out, and find something small to get excited about. That way, even if it’s only for five seconds while you are freaking out about the sloth video you found on Youtube, you will have loved a part of your day.

These are the things that made me love Thursday:

1. Walking to work today. It was such an adventure! The weather was lovely, my favourite song came on and Princes Street Gardens was full of creatures…
2. …including…a ridiculously cute dog. I don’t what breed she was but she looked like a stumpy Golden Retriever/Spaniel cross and her owner very kindly let me say hi. The other creature was…
3. …the most random squirrel ever. Now, I am aware that some people regularly hate on squirrels, but I think they are HILARIOUS. I was crossing the bridge by the Ross Fountain this morning, and I was concentrating on walking really slowly while not looking like a stalker in order to befriend the above dog, so I wasn’t really looking where I was going. When I did look up right at the edge of the bridge, this squirrel was peering round the corner looking extremely suspicious. When he saw I had seen him, he did this ninja roll through the air and sped off. It jolted me right out of my own head and made me laugh out loud.
4. THEN, when I was almost at work, I had the best almost comedy moment ever. I was running to catch a colleague who was holding the door for me, and the banana I was carrying in my pocket (yes, I know – I was protecting it from the bashing it had gotten in my bag) slipped out and I stepped right on it. It felt so weird that I didn’t really know what was going on, and when I looked up I realised I had ACTUALLY stepped on a banana peel, and NOT TRIPPED (I am feeling really caps-locks-y today). I took a picture! Check out that clear footprint!

Bananarama

5. One of our colleagues, Amy, who has recently moved to London (sadness), gave us this gorgeous teapot as a leaving gift:

Tea?

6. I went to the Science Festival launch this evening, and it was fantastic. They had the BRILLIANT idea of, instead of having a launch where the central focus is the bar, letting everyone they invited loose on the amazing Science Play Magic Centre at the City Art Centre (I can’t find its official title, but it kindof makes dreams come true). It meant that everyone got a taste of the events on offer, had a lot of fun and really let loose. I made a GIANT bubble, and this photogram. I am basically Man Ray.

So those are the things that made me smile today. What made you smile today?

Blog Every Day April #6: Live! Roller Derby!

In the spirit of Best Live Entertainment, this evening was spent at a roller derby bout! Today, our All Star team played against Montreal Roller Derby’s New Skids on the Block in a closed bout for ARRG friends and family.

This is a big deal for several reasons.

1.       The Auld Reekie Roller Girls are currently a WFTDA (Womens Flat Track Derby Association) Apprentice League. In order to graduate to full member league status, we have to play number of sanctioned bouts, that tick all the boxes and do all the things the WFTDA expect from a bout. This could well be one of these bouts.

2.       Montreal are, according to the Derby News Network, currently listed as #14 in the WORLD. As derby is largely played in the US, this means that many of the best teams are North American and that UK leagues don’t often get the chance to play them. Montreal are in town for Anarchy in the UK, a weekend long WFTDA sanctioned tournament hosted by the British derby champions, the London Rollergirls. The London All-Stars don’t generally play against any UK leagues, as they are just too good, and it makes for a boring game. This weekend will see them take on three of the top ranking teams in the world, Baltimore’s Charm City Roller Girls (#9), Pittsburgh’s Steel City Derby Demons(#18) and Montreal.  If you’re in London this weekend, you should go! I’ll be there!

3.       It’s our birthday! Three years ago today, the first ARRG practice took place in a church hall. To have us take on such a huge team on the anniversary of that day seems quite fitting.

To celebrate this, I bring you *another* ….multimedia breakdown!

Here, for your viewing pleasure (we are multi-sensory here!) is a quick jam from tonight’s bout:

Have you ever been to a roller derby bout? Did you find it entertaining?

PS – No idea what’s going on? Check out my Introduction to Roller Derby post!