Frost went to the Savoy Hotel today to met Professor Stephen Hawking and hear A Brief History of How England can win the World Cup. Our full coverage and a video will be up soon but we can tell you that the professor will be cheering on England, but doesn’t think we should discount Brazil.
Professor Hawking was in good humour, making the audience of journalists and sport stars laugh. Watch this space for more.
For t
hose outside the acting industry it probably looks easy, but what isn’t easy is finding work. This is proven by Mark Ruffalo’s interview in Interview magazine. Here is a highlight:
“In 2000, playwright-cum filmmaker-Kenneth Lonergan’s quirky little sibling drama You Can Count on Me broke out of the festival circuit and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards (for screenplay and for actress Laura Linney’s star turn). Its success was powered, in part, by the electric performance of a virtually unknown 32-year-old leading man. By the time he booked the part, Mark Ruffalo had already given up on acting at least once, in the mid-’90s, heading home to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to work for his commercial-painter father. But he came back, again and again—auditioning, he once said, 800 times without booking a single role.”
Wow. That is impressive perseverance. Ruffalo also had to deal with his brother being murdered and having a benign brain tumor removed.
Mark Ruffalo is an amazing actor and I am just happy he kept at it. Read the amazing interview, he is interviewed by Julia Roberts and on a shameless self-promotion note: If you are an actor then check out my book How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. It is available in print and in all eBook formats on both Smashwords and Amazon.
I recently went to check out the new products in La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios facial sun protection range. The pimms and prosecco was flowing and the great and good of beauty was hanging out in the garden when they weren’t checking out the amazing range.
I wear sun protection every single day, even when it is snowing. In fact, I was wearing La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios AC 30 SPF to the event, something that made the La Roche-Posay people happy. I am sure it is why people think I am a few years younger than I actually am. I had my skin read by a machine that shows up every sign of aging like sun damage and wrinkles. Apparently I have skin that is younger than someone in their late-twenties. I put it down completely to using sun protection.
Here are some facts:
66% of UK women are concerned about ageing and proactively preventing it.
80% of premature skin ageing is due to exposure to UVA or UVB rays from the sun.
However only 3% of money spent on anti-ageing products is on facial sun protection.
And 70% of consumers use the same sun screen product on their body & face.
Hmm. A little worrying.
I love La Roche-Posay Anthelios as it is matte. Too many sun creams leave the face shiny, sticky and they also feel heavy. Anthelios is a light, matte fluid that makes you feel like you are not even wearing sun protection while protecting you.
The new packaging, thicker and shorter, more compact, looks great. You can buy the new Anthelios XL SPF 50+ for even higher protection and Anthelios XL Compact Cream SPF 50+, which looked natural when I tried it on my hand. It is skin perfecting makeup and sun protection all in one. Ideal for busy women and just very cool.
I love the new range and when my Anthelios AC runs out I will move on the the Anthelios XL.
Women of the world rejoice! Vogue says we are allowed to have breasts! Yes, you got it, breasts are in this season. What we are supposed to do next season is anyones guess but lets not be ungrateful. A man can have a penis all year but breasts are, y’know, inconvenient. Just ask Fashion Designer Marios Schwab who told Tatler “I’m not a big fan of breasts. They’re a challenging constructional point.” Well, Mario, how about not designing for women then, because you know who don’t have breasts? Men.
Vogue says in this article titled Return of The Bosom: “So if boobs are not yet an out-and-out fashion trend, they are becoming a frequent exception to the rule.” Should someone make fashion know that women’s breasts aren’t detachable? Maybe a post-it note or something? This piece clearly shows that Kate Upton is a feminist icon. Yes, you can model and be a female role model. She was deemed “too obvious” for fashion. Now some fashionistas grind their teeth every time she is featured on the cover of Vogue, as she is this month.
Vogue goes on to say: ‘Men love boobs – that’s a well-documented story we needn’t explore here. But for women, as is true for fashion, the relationship is more complicated. In short, breasts are difficult to dress. During couture week, Jourdan Dunn exclaimed on Twitter, “Ahahahahahahha I just got cancelled from Dior because of my boobs!” But, she reasoned, “I’m normally told I’m cancelled because I’m ‘coloured’ so being cancelled because of my boobs is a minor : )”‘
Wow. Breasts may be difficult to dress, but only because designers are so bad at accommodating them. I mean, what’s next? Hips, arms, thighs? If you can’t make women’s clothes with breasts in mind, you are clearly an untalented idiot. Something Sarah Millican wrote an amazing essay on after being trolled after the BAFTA awards.
In my other life as an actor, my breasts have lead to the most amusing moments in my career. I didn’t develop breasts until I was in my twenties but when they came they didn’t hold back: my size now is 32DD. Which makes costume designers hate you. When I was a UK size 4/6 (I am now a size 8), wardrobe loved me, but when I developed breasts I would stand in the middle of the room while various costume people asked each other, ‘What are we supposed to do with those?’ The answer was usually gaffa tape them down. I am so thankful I am a strong person and that was done to me rather than someone else. I can look at it with amusement, other, emotionally fragile or vulnerable, women could possibly have developed an eating disorder. I have spent a lot of time being dressed up like a boy for parts. I have no idea why. Just hire a fricking boy if that’s what you want.
In fact I am rather sick of fashion expecting women to make their bodies fit the dress, rather than the other way around. Even the thinnest woman has curves, only boys are drawn in a truly straight line. We are not ornaments or hangers. In what other aspect of our lives do we pay money for something that isn’t made to suit us and our lifestyles? Instead we are expected to diet our entire lives just for the joy of wearing clothes designed by people who obviously hate the female form, and don’t even lie about it. Yet, still we punish ourselves.
Of course not all designers are like this. Valentino clearly loves women. As does Roberto Cavalli. Dolce & Gabbana say in the same Vogue article: “We always try to create clothes that enhance a woman’s curves. We like to think that a Dolce & Gabbana girl wants to be very feminine, sensual, strong and fierce of her body.” So let’s take a stance in the only way that really gets things done: with our money. Any designer who hates women’s bodies should not have a penny of a women’s money.
Whilst researching this piece I came across this article Hadley Freeman wrote on this subject. Check it out here and this website, a body gallery of how women really look, was interesting too.
What do you think?
On the set of debut feature film, Prose & Cons, which had a lot of set backs but is now being edited. Filmmakers Catherine Balavage and Steve McAleavy.
People talk about success a lot and it got me thinking: all of the things that have made me a better person, that have made me grow and become more successful, I learned from failure. I know what you’re thinking; what am I talking about? What can you possibly learn from failure? Well the truth is: everything.
Here are some of the things I now have because of failing: a successful online magazine, which I started after years of failing to work as a freelancer for the big magazines and newspapers, a fiance, who I will marry soon after failed dates and a failed relationship, a successful acting career after many failed auditions and rejection, a life in London after moving down once before and having to return home after running out of money the first time, finishing a book after five years of procrastination and false starts. I could go on, but what is clear, is that everything I have in my life I didn’t get the first time, or the second: I got it because of what I learned from failure and some good ol’ perseverance.
Here is what I learned from failure and how I applied it to my life.
Perseverance
I have had times when I failed so badly that I have spent entire days working from my bed. I have moped, I have even cried. But I always won in the end, or found something better, because I refused to give up. After leaving drama school I would commute between my parents home near Glasgow and London. It was exhausting and expensive so I decided to move. I went down to London on the night bus, I had no place to live, no job and I knew no one. I managed to find a studio flat in Highgate (£595 per month rent nine years ago) and get some ad hoc temp and promo work. However, I couldn’t find enough work to pay the rent and bills. My parents even had to come and take me back to Scotland as I had stuff in the flat and no money at all (thanks mum and dad!). I regrouped, found a job in Scotland that I could transfer to London and moved into a much cheaper house share. This time it stuck: I have never looked back and have made a life in London despite the fact that I knew no one in London and had no contacts either time.
Humility
When I was younger I wanted to be a writer or an actor. I have managed to be both now but when I first started trying to write I tried to get a job everywhere. I called up every newspaper near where my parents lived in Scotland, as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh. ‘Not only are we not hiring’, they said, ‘We’re letting people go.’ It was disheartening. I sent hundreds, probably even a thousand, CVs, letters, emails, calls….I failed miserably. I could not find a writing job in Scotland and although I could not see it at the time, it was a blessing. It also removed any resemblance of ego. Humility is a very important quality in life. You are not special, you are only one person amongst billions of others. A casting director also said this to a group of actors years later: ‘You are not special’. It’s true, and it helps to know it. The world does not owe you a living
Strength
A similar thing happened when I started acting. I left drama school and sent out hundreds of headshots and resumes to every casting director in the UK. I mostly got no reply, but after doing this a number of times, I started to get one or two. Getting an actor career off the ground is very expensive and I was faced with constant rejection. It took my years to even start getting good auditions and then even more years to start getting good parts. But I learned how strong I am, and that I just won’t give up. And that is all you need in life: strength and perseverance. This was especially true when I made my first feature length film as a writer/co-director/lead actor, but it is finished now and being edited.
What Works And What Doesn’t
With failure you learn what doesn’t, and what does work. You also learn about your strengths and weaknesses and can put all of that knowledge into action. I learned that cold calling people would only get me so far and learned to network. It made a huge difference.
Limits, And How To Pass Through Them.
The thing about limits is that you can push through them when you need to. I have done things I never thought I would be able to. Like performing on the West End, performing Shakespeare in the park, organising a launch party for this magazine pretty much all by myself and then managing to fix it when the venue pulled out at the last minute. The day before I had to email or call hundreds of people telling them about the change in venue and then was up late into the night making up hundreds of goodie bags. It was a tough and stressful time but the launch party was amazing, over three hundred people turned up and had a great time.
Of course, everyone has their limits but knowing when to give yourself a break and look after yourself is indispensable. Burning out helps no one. Then after recuperation comes the bounce back. You have to know when to give it a little bit more to achieve something amazing, and when to take some time out.
I hope you enjoyed this post. I would love to know your thoughts and what you have learned from failure. Please comment below or email frostmagazine@gmail.com
I recently went to my local council with my fiancé to give notice to marry and was both shocked and appalled to learn that mothers are not included on marriage certificates in England. In Scotland and Northern Ireland mothers are included, but not in England. This essentially whitewashes women out of the history of their own children. Mothers carry their children for nine months and then go through the pain of labour and risk their lives to give birth to them, apparently this isn’t enough to be included on their marriage certificate.
It was upon reading this excellent guest post on Mumsnet by Ailsa Burkimsher Sadler that I decided that enough is enough. So I have signed her campaign and you should to. After all, without women the world would cease to exist. Yet the children that we have get a man’s surname slapped on them and then we are not even important enough to be included on their marriage certificate. As Alisa says in her blog post: “Did you know that marriage certificates in England and Wales include a section for the names and occupations of the fathers of the bride and groom, but the names and occupations of their mothers are not allowed to be recorded?
In Scotland and Northern Ireland information about mothers is included. Civil Partnerships also recognise mothers, unlike same sex marriages, which mirror their heterosexual counterparts.
‘So what?’ I hear some corners of the internet cry – ‘haven’t we got bigger fish to fry?’ But imagine you’ve brought up your child on your own – when the most important day of their life comes along you won’t be legally acknowledged, and the absent father will be. And if you’ve raised a child together, imagine that only he is considered important enough to give his blessing to the union. And it’s about more than a hurtful snub – it’s about the erasing of women from the civil and legal system of which marriage is a central part. We’re writing women out of history, and it seems indicative of a society where decisions are made by men to suit men. ”
Enough is enough: please also sign the petition so we can end the sexism. 33,000 people have so far. Thank you.
Catherine
Follow Alisa here: Twitter: @nameequality
Last month over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped and thanks to social media, the protest has been loud, with powerful names giving their support. Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama have added their voices to the #bringbackourgirls campaign. The First Lady tweeted this photo and message of support.
Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It’s time to #BringBackOurGirls. -mo pic.twitter.com/glDKDotJRt
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) May 7, 2014
Angelina Jolie told the Agence France-Presse: “The kidnapping of these young Nigerian girls is an unthinkable cruelty, Sadly, of course, there is real evil in the world. You watch the news and you see all of the people suffering and so much cruelty.”
CNN screened a video released by Nigerian Islamic group Boko Haram which featured the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, who claimed responsibility for kidnapping the girls and vowed to sell them into slavery. Reportedly, 276 girls were kidnapped from a school in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state.
Visit Change.org to sign the petition and use the #bringbackourgirls hashtag.
The craziness of the wedding industry really shows up in the price of wedding cakes. When my fiancé and I first started looking, we couldn’t find one for less than £350, and most of them weren’t even nice. If you take away the fact they have the word ‘wedding’ in front of them, would anyone actually pay thousands of pounds for a cake? I think not.
In saying that, there are a lot out there with the craftsmanship and design that makes the price worthwhile. If you want great design at a good price then I recommend going the supermarket route. My fiancé and I got our wedding cake from Waitrose.com. Marks And Spencers also do great, affordable wedding cakes.
Here are some beautiful wedding cakes from Waitrose.com
Fiona Cairns Ivory Rose Petal 3-tier Wedding Cake (mixed filling)
Fiona Cairn is the Royal wedding cake maker. So if she is good enough for Kate and William….
Fiona Cairns Vintage Fairytale 3-tier Wedding Cake (Sponge)
Chocolate Wedding Cake – Gold – 3 Tier
If chocolate is your thing and you don’t want a traditional cake.
And (drum roll) here is our wedding cake. It matches our wedding colours of pale pink, pale green and white. We love it and got it in a mixed filling of vanilla sponge and fruit cake.
When buying a wedding cake make sure you check how many people it serves. The website should tell you or ask your baker. Another thing to check is if decoration is included. Some cakes look amazing but the small print says that the decoration is not included. This is also an easier way to get a cheaper cake, if you decorate it yourself, it costs less. Although there is the added stress.
While researching wedding cakes I saw a lot of gorgeous wedding cake toppers on ebay and ribbon is very cheap to buy from a haberdashery. You could also make your own or get a relative to make one. Although I would not do this if you weren’t brilliant at baking. Waitrose.com also have some guides on decorating your wedding cake and the BBC also have a great blog on making your own wedding cake.
Good luck and let us know about your wedding cake choices.
Where will you get your wedding cake?
If you are planning your wedding then get your hands on The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. It has great advice on every aspect of wedding planning and lots of great advice on choosing the perfect wedding cake.