L.A. Noire

Yes! Rockstar have a new game coming out next year called 'L.A. Noire'. As far as I know, it will be for both PS3 and Xbox 360. I absolutely adore Rockstar games, especially the sandbox titles, such as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. click: L.A. Noire on Wikipedia

It's going to be a murder mystery, basically you are a detective trying to catch a serial killer in 1940's Los Angeles. It also has some interesting features, such as facial recognition technology, which makes all the characters faces very realistically expressive! Basically they film the real voice actors and capture their facial movements, its an excellent way of making the game seem very realistic. It reminds me of the technology used to create Uncharted (1 and 2) where they filmed the voice actors wearing special suits and captured all their body movements. It all adds to the realism. (L.A. Noire, out Spring 2011).

 L.A. Noire poster

I am still currently trying to complete GTA 4, and recently completed RDR. I actually took a year-long break from GTA 4 because it was frustrating me so much lol! But I regained my interest and I am determined to finish it, then play the 'Episodes of Liberty City'. My younger brother is also bugging me to get Undead Nightmare, a DLC pack for RDR. Basically all the fun of RDR, but with zombies! Everything is zombified, even animals. I have a feeling I will be very scared when I play it lol.

A zombified John Marston, RDR Undead Nightmare

Rockstar should thank me for all this free advertising lol!

Family News

OK, so my older brother recently got engaged! He is 26 and is engaged to a 24 year old girl, she is also half-Libyan, half-English like we are. That was actually pretty important to my brother, and it is for me also. Lots of people like someone like them, and we are just doing the same thing. I would feel better if I could marry someone the same mix as me. I just feel like marrying from elsewhere can sometimes create problems. For some people its fine, but I dont want a freshie from Libya! I know what will happen, they may expect me to be like a Libyan, and then be disappointed when they realise that my English side and being raised in England has a big impact on me as a person......... I would advise anyone who thinks this way NOT to propose to someone different to them! You will not like it, trust me.

Anyway, I got to choose the engagement ring, it's white gold with a knot. Here it is:

 It wasn't what I chose originally, but many stores had sold out of sizes due to the Christmas rush. Its still very nice though, and most importantly she loved it!

Eid ul-Adha and Other Stuff

So it was Eid ul-Adha on Tuesday (16th Nov). I worked my voluntary shift at the WRVS hospital shop as we were not doing anything that morning after the Eid prayer. My dad managed to get a sheep slaughtered, today he was sorting the meat. We are keeping one leg, and the rest is being given to friends and family. By the way, this is the correct way to do Eid! Many people think you are supposed to donate money to a charity and have meat slaughtered abroad only for poor people. The slaughter is for everyone, regardless of wealth levels. If you cannot slaughter then fair enough, but dont use donation as a total replacement. Try to get slaughtered meat for your own family.

http://foodlibya.wordpress.com/

 On other issues, I must complain finally about the 2Pass driving forum. It was something I found just before doing my first driving test attempt. On the surface it looked pretty helpful, but I was soon ridiculed when I went to the website to announce my first test result. People blamed me for failing, instead of making me feel better about myself. I was already beating myself up about it, I didnt need those twits joining in too! A small number of members are genuinely lovely, but there is a 'crew' on there, they can say pretty much anything and the moderators allow them to do so, as they have befriended them. It's all pretty childish. I ended up being banned and never went back since, the whole thing is just a joke and the mods are REALLY unfriendly. The worst ones are the examiners on there, they have huge egos and if you dare say anything wrong about test-taking, boy won't you know about it! You are pretty much made to feel like a bad driver, even though nobody on there has seen you drive. They ought to change things round, call it 2Fail instead would be a start! I wouldnt advise joining that site if you want help and advice concerning your driving test. Maria McCarthy's books are much better for that. I shall provide linkage!

http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/1124040/The-Girls-Guide-to-Losing-Your-L-plates/Product.html

http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/5402203/The-Girl-Car-Handbook/Product.html

As you can see, they are pretty cheap if you buy them used, or just ask at your local library if you are low on funds! I have the Girl's Car Handbook and its fantastic for when you have passed.

Why are some Muslims extremist?

 I feel I should address this issue, as a Muslim I feel constantly associated with other Muslims who are extreme in their views. One such example is 21 year old Roshonara Choudhry, who stabbed her local MP Stephen Timms, because he voted in favour of the Iraq War. I can understand her displeasure, but she will now be labelled as a terrorist for what she has done. In the past, Muslim women probably were not seen as too much of a threat, it was more the bearded men, but now because of what Roshonara has done, people are going to now think Muslim woman hide knives in their handbags! That may sound stupid to some people, but already some people think we sit at home making bombs, so this won't be too far from their imaginations.

Roshonara Chaudhry in her mugshot

 

 I dont want to be seen as some hate-filled Muslim woman, I don't feel that way about people. Even after all the stuff Tony Blair and George Bush have done, I wouldn't even go and kill them either! Violence doesn't solve things, it just causes more problems, as Roshonara has done. It will be her fault if people think we go around carrying weapons, she has made this real now, it's not such a stretch to think it could happen with someone else. In fact I am the one who pretty much lives in fear. In my area there are a lot of chavvy, rough people. I am not scared of them, but they do intimidate people. They stand around drinking and smoking, and sometimes they do attack people. I have been physically attacked myself. I was walking to the corner shop and somebody tried to pull my scarf off my head. I was minding my own business, not even looking at these people, as these days just looking is enough to get you killed sometimes! There was the case of a young man who looked at a chavvy sort whilst on a train, and apparently that was enough to get stomped to death. (that is usually their weapon of choice, stamping on your head til your brains come out).

MP Stephen Timms, who was stabbed by Roshonara Chaudhry

 

 Some Muslims will probably disagree with a lot of what I have said here, but I don't care. We shouldn't embrace people who use violence to make their point. This goes for ANYONE, Muslim or not, who uses violence against people for whatever reason they think. You should only use violence in self-defence in my opinion. Even when I was attacked I could not fight back anyway, can you imagine how much worse off I would have been if I'd tried to hit them? I would have been beat up or left for dead.

I want to make it clear that I do not agree with any wars, such as in Iraq or Afghanistan, but I will give some advice to people who feel a lot of hatred towards politicians whoever. Just go over to the country where the war is taking place, and help the people fight back there. That would be much more useful than stabbing an MP and ending up in prison for your efforts! I feel despair at politicians a lot too, I voted this year, for the Lib Dems, but I regret it now because we have ended up with this mess of a coalition government. Maybe I won't vote again, but I'm not totally sure. Will there ever be a party that completely changes everything? I think some things are beyond their control, but where they can make a difference, they usually don't bother. Tory party, too many cuts! They favour the rich, end of! (they are just a party made up of old Etonians, they simply cannot understand what life is like for working class people).

The Coalition; Nick Clegg and David Cameron

 On a final note, if you want to read the news in a non-biased (honest!) manner, then read Private Eye. They tell the truth about stuff, in a very sartirical manner. I am a subscriber myself, and it's much better than reading a newspaper. The editor is Ian Hislop, a team captain on Have I Got News For You. http://www.private-eye.co.uk/

Dexter (spoilers) Season 4

 So I just finished watching Dexter Season 4, what an ending! I will warn you now not to read on if you haven't yet seen season 4.

Great poster eh? I love this one, it's Dexter with his baby son Harrison, and I love how many hints it has as it what Dexter moonlights as. Anyway, the end of season 4 was pretty damn shocking. FX showed the last two episodes as a double bill on Friday night, 'Hello Dexter Morgan' and 'The Getaway'. First of the two was mostly about Trinity trying to find Dexter, only he knew him as another name, Kyle Butler. So he searches the phone book to find Kyle Butler. Searches a few places, doesn't find anything. But along the way we learn he has killed one of the Kyle Butlers he chanced upon. The one who dared to challenge why Trinity was trying to break into his house. Dexter is at the crime scene later on, hears the name of the victim and realises by using the false name, he led Trinity there and ultimately Dexter felt responsible for this killing of an innocent man. Later on Trinity follows Dexter back to the Miami Metro police station and finds out his real name by reading his name badge. Episode ends there, then onto the final!

 Trinity now has Dexter's real name and sets about trying to find out where he lives. At the same time, Dexter realises the danger his family are in now that Trinity knows his real name, so he sends Astor and Cody with their grandparents to Disneyland, and arranges for Rita and Harrison to go to the Keys for their belated honeymoon,  in which Dexter promises he will join them later on. Trinity finds Dexter's old apartment, which Debra is now living in. He figures this out by reading the names off nearby envelopes, and realises he has the wrong place. Dexter then tries to go after Trinity, he ends up driving very fast and clipping off somebody's wing mirror. He catches up with Trinity in a parking lot, drugs him but then when Dexter tries to leave, the guy with the clipped wing mirror has turned up with the police. Guy tries to take a photo, Dexter knocks his phone to the ground, and is immediately arrested. Rita later picks him up, and Dexter goes back to the parking lot to finish what he started, only Trinity has gone.

 Dexter then goes to visit Trinity's family, to try and find his whereabouts. Jonah tells Dex that Trinity took stuff to sell then left. The police then turn up at the house and smash in the door, as they have now figured out who the real Trinity killer is. Dex goes and hides in the coffin Trinity made, emerges and acts like he just got in the garage first and points out clues to Debra and Batista. Deb tells Dex she knows Laura Moser was his mother and that the Ice Truck Killer was his brother. Dex acts like he doesn't know. Then, Dex figures out Trinity must be picking up his fixed Mustang. We see Trinity pick up the now black (was white) Mustang and ride out, happy as can be, accompanied by some cheery music. The car starts smoking some way through the journey, so Trinity stops and looks under the bonnet. The oil cap is missing. Dexter emerges from behind the car and hits Trinity on the head with the bonnet, whilst showing him the oil cap. Dex then finally gets Trinity as he wants him, wrapped in cling film on a table, ready to be killed.

 Dex uses the room where Trinity took the kidnapped boy Scott as a kill room. As Dex cuts Trinity's cheek, Trinity asks if this is who Dexter is. Then they talk about how Dex loves his family, but Trinity never treated his with any respect. Locking up his daughter, abusing his son and scaring his wife pretty often! Trinity says it's God's will and he accepts it, as if talking about death. Dex lets the toy train go around one last time, and Trinity says "it's all over now, it's all over now." I took this to mean Trinity was accepting his own demise, and then Dex raises the hammer. Cuts to Dex going home to pick up his bag to meet Rita on their honeymoon. He checks his voicemail and Rita mentions she had to come back home as she forgot her ID. Dex then calls Rita, and hears her phone ring in the house. He finds her bag, then he hears Harrison cry. He follows the sound to the bathroom, where he finds Harrison sitting in a pool of blood with Rita lying dead in the bathtub, in the style of a Trinity bathtub kill (sever femoral artery, then strangle whilst she dies). This scene was truly shocking for me, and I found myself shedding a tear for lovely Rita. She didn't deserve to be killed, and of course it I realised Trinity must have found Dex's house and chanced upon Rita as she had returned home to pick up some ID. I will put up pictures, as they are pretty powerful.

Dex checks Rita's pulse, but she is already dead

 I like the look on Dex's face here, captures what we all were feeling

 Poor little Harrison, sitting in his mother's blood. Very similar to a young Dex sitting in his own mother's blood in a shipping container

Cooking

 Today I tried a Jamie Oliver recipe from his newest show, Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. (Everyday at 5.30pm, Channel 4). I decided to cook the sausage ragu, which he named Jools' Pasta, after his wife who enjoyed it whilst she was pregnant. Anyway, here is my attempt!

And here is Jamie's:

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/jamie-oliver/jool-s-pasta-with-frangipane-tart-meal_p_1.html

Couldn't get it up as an image, but I think I did a pretty good job making it. As it contains blitzed veggies, it's also quite healthy. And for those of you wondering about halal sausages, I used Quorn. My mum remembers sausages from when she was young, as she is a convert, and she says Quorn tastes just the same.
 I didn't make the frangipane tarts, but I made a great salad to go with it.

Bargains Galore

 Went shopping in town today and found some fantastic bargains! First stop was Sainbury's, I wasn't planning on getting anything there, but I found the Barbie ballerina doll my little sister wants for Eid-ul-Adha, it was only £4 so I snapped it up right away. It costs about £7 full price, so a few pounds saved there.

 

Barbie 'I Can Be....' Brunette Ballerina doll

I wasn't exactly on the lookout for tags and gift wrap, but found it when I had a little look in M&S. For some reason they had reduced all their gift wrap and tags to 10p each! So I got two rolls of wrap, and a few packs of tags. Cost me 50p altogether! So all sorted for wrapping pressies for Eid, coming up in a few weeks (mid-November). I also managed to get some amazing eyeliner (kohl) from the Body Shop. They had a little sale going on, and some of the make-up and toiletries were half-price. Their make-up usually costs a fortune, so to see some kohl for £3.50, and in different shades too, was great. I got the Steel colour, which is like a silver. Didn't think I could pull off Evergreen LOL!

Body Shop 'Steel' Eyeliner

 I still have some Eid shopping to do, for some reason Eid-ul-Adha always seems more relaxed. Perhaps because there's no fasting for a whole month beforehand?! And also because we don't slaughter our own sheep in the UK. So there's not a lot to do at Eid time around here. Best thing is gift giving really. I don't expect anything from my family, I much prefer to just give them something. The two youngest siblings always get something in toy-form, my mum perhaps jewellery (although I got her Natscha Kampusch's book last time) my dad maybe socks, gift set or perfume (he got Davidoff Adventure last time) but my other youngest brother and my one older brother, I can't always figure out what to get them. Perhaps some Lynx gift sets, they use lynx shower gel anyway, so I know it wouldn't go to waste. (Although I absolutely despise the smell of Lynx, perfume or cologne is much better!)

Lynx Africa Gift set

 Anyway that's all for today, inshallah next time I can say I have a job next time I blog! Been applying for a few things, so let's see what happens. 

Thought I Would Try Blogging

 Hey everyone, I'm new to blogging, although I do sometimes write articles for a column that looks like a blog (http://www.teenperspectives.com). 

 I haven't done any articles for a while, many that have been put up were 'guest' articles, I'm not sure but perhaps my editor Wael wrote them. He's an Egyptian-American living in Panama and I started writing for his website probably about three years ago now. We should probably change the name from teenperspectives to something else, since I am now no longer a teen!
 I should introduce myself. I am a mixed-race (Libyan and English) young woman living in a cesspit in the North-East of England. Please, I am not joking, it is truly awful here and I long for the day that I can escape! Perhaps blogging will take my mind off things, LOL! I was born and grew up in this town, and that's about all I can take of it. That's right, I'm talking about Middlesbrough. Anyone who has ever been here will know exactly what I'm talking about. http://planningblog.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/middlesbrough-is-awful-agrees-ofcom/

I haven't had a lot of experiences in Libya. I visited when I was two years old, which I dont remember, then I went again at 18 years old, at the end of 2005 and returning early 2006. I got stuck there for two months, and perhaps when I can be bothered, I'll post the full story! Libya is ok, but it's not somewhere I'd want to live. For me seeing family is the biggest pull, but I do also like sightseeing. I felt like a tourist with my very own tour guide (my youngest uncle) when I was over there. He knew a lot about the history of Libya, especially Tripoli, and it was great to hear so much facts. Thats another thing I like; history. I like seeing how people used to live and events that occured. One of my favorite things in the museum in Tripoli was seeing the dummy people dressed up and put in old-fashioned Libyan home scenes. It felt like being transported back in time. It always feels a little creepy, but its a nice feeling too, like seeing a 3D photo.

Seraya Al-Hamra (The Red Fort) in Tripoli


One thing that also made me want to start this blog is KhadijaTeri's blog. She is an American expat living in Libya and married to a Libyan man. I feel similarities when reading her posts, even though I have never lived in Libya. She is a laugh-a-minute! I will try and blog at least once a week, but maybe it will be more considering how bored I get living in my cesspit hometown LOL! 

One of the nicer parts of Boro, the Transporter Bridge, which is part of the skyline