What Catherine Said About: Chime for Change

"Women have a voice, a voice that can't be stopped"

-Jada Pinkett Smith 

Chime for Change was one of the most epic experiences of my life, the music was amazing and one of my dreams came true when I got to see Beyonce perform. However, the show was so much more than an exploration of musical talent, women came together to make a change in the world. 

As I have mentioned previously I'm a keen fund-raiser and any opportunity to be part of a charitable event I am there, which is why this concert struck a cord with me. After trying and failing to get tickets to the Mrs Carter Show I felt like I would never get to see her, but then this concert came about and in my opinion, was a million times better than any other show I could have gone to. First off, it was £20 cheaper than The Mrs Carter Show, but also the whole ticket cost went to a charity of your choice. Not only that, but as well as Beyonce headlining, there were performances from Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, J-Lo, Haim, John Legend and many more as well as appearances from James Franco (BABE), Jessica Chastain, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Madonna, Jada Pinkett Smith, Salma Hayek and loads of others!

Through out the show there were videos for the different causes you could use your ticket to support, as well as videos showing the pure passion of women and the strength we all have and must use to enforce equality. 

One video that stuck in my mind was one that told the story of a young woman from the UK who had been walking home one night and had been groped by a man in between her legs. She was shocked by the violation and inspired to set up @EverydaySexism a twitter page where women can post their experiences. The video is below and shows the complete lack of respect that exits, but seems totally accepted. Please watch:

           

A powerful video, donate here.

That's just one of the hundreds of worthy causes ticket holders could donate to, and one of the many inspirational films that were shown that night.

UK viewers who watched the "highlights" on BBC One on Saturday night may note that you didn't see this. In fact you saw very little. 

The BBC did a horrendous job of covering the event, advertised as "Beyonce and Friends" in some listings, it showed just an hour of the four hour long concert only showing some musical acts and none of the guest speakers apart from Madonna. They showed none of the campaign videos, viewers could be forgiven for thinking that this was just another summer concert like The Big Weekend, rather than a charity gala run by the same people who did Live 8. 

It has made me so angry that the BBC didn't give the concert proper coverage. In the country it is being hosted we are given the least amount of TV coverage. Here's the broadcast summary just to show the horrific correlation between the coverage in the UK and that of the rest of the world: 

Africa – MNET
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea (Including Malabo), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria Principe Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome, St. Helena, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe

Australia – 10 - Live

American Forces Network

Brazil – TV Globo - Live

Canada – TLN - Live

Denmark – DR- Live

Finland – YLE - Live

France – M6

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal – STAR - Live

Israel – IBA - Live

Italy, Vatican City, Monte Carlo, Republic of San Marino – SKY - Live

Japan – WoWow  - Live

Korea – CJ E& M - Live

Kosovo – RTK

Latin America & Caribbean – DirecTv - Live
Argentina, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, the Caribbean (Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten), St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Non-exclusive: Puerto Rico/USVI

Middle East – ROTANA – Live
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, West Bank, Gaza Strip and Palestine

Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia – ASTRO - Live

Mongolia – Mongol TV - Live

Norway – TV2

Sweden – SVT

Thailand – TRUTV - Live

Turkey – CNN Turk, Dreams - Live

UK – BBC – 1-Hour Highlight Special Saturday Night

US – NBC – 2-Hour Highlight Special Sunday Night

 

Live, live, live, live, live, everywhere is getting it live and then the UK shows an hour at 10pm. What the fuck? 

This show was created for the empowerment of women around the world and I feel the BBC have sorely neglected that. It makes me want to scream and cry, actually. How could they do it such an injustice? To me it comes across as though they have no support for the cause, and I'm not the only one who has recognised the fault in their actions. Harvey Goldsmith, the lead promoter of the event, confessed his disappointment in the BBC's decision to decline a live broadcast of the event, to the Daily Mail. He said "The idea behind the concert is to launch a charity which will help millions of women and young girls around the world. In a lot of countries it went out live. In fact in most of them. I am disappointed that the BBC did not broadcast the event live." He went on to say that the BBC are obsessed with Glastonbury preperations and anything else comes second to that. The BBC reportedly responded, explaining that they were unable to show more because of the concerts commercial sponsors. I understand that the BBC doesn't do adverts but they managed to show the whole Super Bowl including Beyonce's half time show, the whole thing. Now I'm just going to assume that a massive sporting event such as the Super Bowl has some commercials in it? The UK broadcast didn't, so they some how must have worked around that was there no way they could have done the same for Chime for Change? At the event there was certainly no adverts or any "Chime for Change, Sponsored by...", so it must have been done in post production. This whole thing just confuses me a lot. The BBC broadcast Comic Relief and Children in Need and they are always sponsored by huge supermarkets and department stores so what's the problem?

 There's nothing much to do about it now but I do think it was badly handled. The show was amazing though and not just the performances, as I said before but the informative nature of the show there was a sense of unity in the crowd as some cried during the emotional videos and we screamed and cheered together when the embassadors came on stage. I really would recommend checking out the videos on the Chime for Change YouTube channel, here. 
You can also read the Daily Mail, Harvey Goldsmith article here.

I think the most important thing I can take away from that concert is that women do not have equality, as Beyonce said "everybody knows racism is wrong but sexism is tolerated", women are paid less than men, money is power. Men are given the opportunity to run the world, whilst women are held back and told to be happy with their lot. The glass ceiling is real and we will break it and the glass will fall on those who ever believed that they could keep a woman down.
WOOOO WOMEN EMPOWERMENT RAH RAH RAH FSGHDJFGKHJKL BEYONCE!!!

As you can tell I have had a massive surge in feminist emotions in the past week and I'm just letting it all out now, but in all honesty Chime for Change was phenominal I can't say it enough.
LOVE WOMEN!
Peace
Catherine

       

What Catherine Said About: "I’m Not Okay with Chris Brown Performing at the Grammys and I’m Not Sure Why You Are" by Sasha Pasulka

I was browsing Hello Giggles earlier and first of all I just want to express my love for that website. I LOVE IT! So, so much, its just does it all! Fashion, beauty, news, cooking what ever you want, it does it! It has a brilliant mantra about feminism which asks "why can't I care about equality and enjoy fabulous nails?" YES HELLO GIGGLES! HELL YES!
I have spent the past three years of my degree, feeling like because I like a bit of MAC I am buying into the sexist regimes created to keep women in their place, never truly believing they are good enough, always competing against each other to be the focus of male attention. How about BULL SHIT.





Yes, thank you, thank you kindly. Saying that I feel pretty conflicted buying a Kit Kat nowadays like I'm part of a corporate commercial machine, damn you Thinking About Culture modules! The point is, I've come to the conclusion if I buy nail polish it's not because its how I've been programmed to think by men (they are not that smart) it's because I want it! I am for equality, I am aware that women still get paid less than men, I am aware that with money comes power, I am aware that men have been given the opportunity to run the world because they are at an advantage and until we rectify that we will never have equality. And I am aware of all this wearing my fabulous Revlon nail polish in 'Vixen' whilst listening to Beyonce 'Upgrade You'. DEAL WITH IT. For a long time I didn't want to be called a feminist, I didn't think I qualified, but there is of course a simple test to see if you are indeed a feminist. Do you agree that women should have all the same rights as men? Do you think women should have complete control of their lives, be it at home, in the work place or in the Houses of Parliament? Yes? Then your a feminist. For me it's as simple as that, being a feminist means being able to do whatever you choose with your life without restrictions or restraints.

So, yeah. That turned into a bit more of a feminist rant than I had hoped but there you go. I love Hello Giggles. Did I say that? If you haven't already checked it out just click here , and if you need any more encouragement than my good word (why would you?) it is co-founded by the glorious Zooey Deschanel! What more could you bloody want!?

Now after a slightly excessive introduction I shall begin the main article. As I was browsing the website I came across an article that had had a lot of hits, the most on the website in fact and it was this,  "I’m Not Okay with Chris Brown Performing at the Grammys and I’m Not Sure Why You Are" by Sasha Pasulka. Read it here.

The article had been highlighted as it was Chris Browns birthday that day (May 5th). I read the article with interest as it confirmed everything I had suspected for a long time, Chris Brown sucks.

Sasha Pasulka, a digital analyst and freelance writer, calls out the Grammys for letting him perform at the show just three years after he brutally attacked Rihanna at a pre party for the same event. After making out that Brown had served his time for the crime, not being allowed at the Grammy Awards for the past two shows, he was allowed back to perform and welcomed like an "exiled prince returning to his former glory."
After addressing the initial "media storm" that surrounded the incident in 2009, and the lack of support for Rihanna, Pasulka quotes the executive producer of the Grammys Ken Ehrlich as he said this of Brown's return to the show:

“We’re glad to have him back, I think people deserve a second chance, you know. If you’ll note, he has not been on the Grammys for the past few years and it may have taken us a while to kind of get over the fact that we were the victim of what happened.”

Now. I had never heard this statement before, being in the UK the Grammys aren't on TV or anything so it might have been missed by our media. But the impression I get from Pasulka's article is that this comment was completely disregarded by the US media too. Now to say the Usher had to apologise to Chris Brown and his fans after he called out Brown for frolicking in the ocean on a jet ski mere weeks after he had abused his girlfriend but this comment is over looked is worrying. The tone of the whole thing is hideous, "if you'll note he has not been on the Grammys for the past few years". No, Ken, that had completely surpassed me thank you for bringing it to my attention you absolute twot. Ken also goes a way to alert us to the fact the they, the Grammys, were the victim of this whole disaster. I'm sorry Ken but are you for real? A woman was beaten up by her boyfriend to the point of hospitalisation, and you're a victim?
Pasulka goes on the say this,

  "By blacklisting Chris Brown from the Grammys for a “few” years (actually, a grand total of TWO Grammy Awards), the Grammys have gone above and beyond expectations for the social exile of an adult man who hit his girlfriend so hard she went to the hospital, and honestly it was really, really hard for them to show even that much support for victims of domestic violence worldwide."

It's all just so true, and I don't understand how anybody in their right mind could dispute or ignore it. This article goes a long way to shine a big fat spot light on all the things that are not being said about Chris Brown and domestic violence.  The fact that there was a so called "media storm" at the time but in fact very little was being said in Rihanna's defence more in the way of ambiguous comments by fellow celebs and accusing comments by the public.
At the time of the event I was 16 years old and thought I had an idea about what's what but this made me think again. When I initially heard what happened I found it hard to believe, but then that picture came out and it was horrific and I was disgusted and ready for Chris Brown's career to be over. And then it just wasn't in fact it wasn't anything that I expected it to be. There seemed to be a lot of discussion about what happened that night, on the news people tried to understand how it could have happened but no one expressing their opinion. On the internet the immediate response that I saw was a lot of people defending Chris Brown asking what Rihanna  must have done to provoke such an attack and I thought, why does that have any relevance? It doesn't, it has no relevance at all because no matter what there is no reason for domestic violence, it's that simple. 
At home, watching the news and reading comments on the internet I knew that what was happening was nuts, and I knew what I thought but when I went to college the day after that I was forced to question what I believed. People weren't defending Rihanna they were blaming her for the hard time that Chris Brown was having, they said she had been cheating on him and that she was high and that she was a bitch and that they loved Chris Brown. What was happening? It was like the whole world had gone insane and anyone who stood up for Rihanna and shamed Chris Brown was a weirdo and just plain wrong. People were defending Chris Brown because they preferred him to Rihanna.
Four years on and it is still a topic of some heated discussion, but why. There shouldn't be any need for discussion Chris Brown hit a woman, slammed her head against a car window until her mouth filled with blood and she went in to hospital to be treated for her wounds. That's fact. Imagine if it was your mother or sister would you be so quick to dismiss those facts, to defend him even?
What all this says to me is that there is a long way to go before domestic violence is treated with the kind of respect it deserves, whilst people are still trying to defend Chris Brown and blame Rihanna it is a massive kick in the teeth to women who have suffered domestic violence.
Sasha Pasulka's article and its reappearance on the Hello Giggles website is beacon of hope if it isn't to cliché to say, representing the right and the honest to the masses.
 All that's left to say is that there should be no place in this world for violence of any kind, but it creeps in like poison and infects the lives of so many. When it occurs we should offer support and sympathy to it's victims, the real victims.
Peace and Love
Catherine  

What Catherine Said About: MIDI RINGS

 

As trends go the midi ring is one that I actually quite enjoy unlike ponchos and ugg boots. (Sorry but they are basically slippers and I can't get down with paying £100+ and not getting any sort of heel, I just can't.) It's the kind of thing that Phoebe used to wear in Friends and always looked hippie and cool, so when they started popping up in Topshop I was first to hop on that bandwagon.
"That sounds delightful Catherine, do you have any picture evidence of this?"
Unfortunately not eloquent stranger, you see the annoying thing about midi rings is that as cute and trendy as they are unless you want to risk cutting off the circulation to your finger tips they tend to slip off. Being so small once they fall off, good luck finding them again!
I originally had four midi rings, three from Topshop and one from River Island. They were beautiful and I loved them dearly. I had worn them about twice when I went to Manchester for a friends birthday and I lost three within the space of ten minutes, NO EXAGGERATION.
Luckily for me, if you can call it luck, the one I didn't lose was the fancy expensive one so you know, swings and roundabouts. After the trauma of losing three all at once I was too scared to wear it and I'm afraid my gusto for the midi ring perished.
NOT THE END OF THE STORY.
After a while I got over it, tis only midi rings after all. I went out on the hunt for some inexpensive midi rings that wouldn't send me into a deep dark pit of depression (EXAGGERATION) if I lost one or two. This was a bigger task than I had originally believed as everything is so gosh darn expensive nowadays.
However, this story does have a happy ending. I have found a perfect substitute for midi rings, in the form of Argos earrings. THAT'S RIGHT ARGOS!
Only £9.99 for 6 Sterling Silver small hoop earrings that double perfectly for midi rings. (SEE FLOWERY TURQUOISE NAIL PICTURE ABOVE) Also being Sterling Silver they won't tarnish to that nasty orange colour like most high street jewellery.
So there you have it cheap midi rings :)
Here's the link and if you're feeling a little more flush you could go crazy and get them in gold too!
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2118275.htm

Peace Out
Catherine
 

What Catherine Said About: *SPOILER ALERT* IRON MAN 3 *MASSIVE SPOILERS*

So, before I start I want it to be made perfectly clear that I love Robert Downey Jnr. I loved him in the first two Iron Man's, I loved him in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, I loved him in Tropic Thunder, I loved him in Fur I even loved him in Only You. You know I loved him in Sherlock Holmes and yes, you guessed it, I loved him in Due Date too.
Just to be clear, I'm a fan.
So it goes without saying that I did indeed LOVE Iron Man 3.
Before I go on and on about the sheer glory of this film I would like to take you on a journey which I'm calling "Catherine's Unnecessarily Long Journey to Iron Man 3, and the Cinema At the End of the Dissertation."
It began on October 23rd 2012, the day the first trailer came out for Iron Man 3. Previous to this I had been massively hyped up by the juggernaut that was the Avengers. A film that was undeniably brilliant. I had loved that film until I had nothing left to give. Then in October, I was sat in a lecture theatre at Uni trying not to nod off during one of Paul's more energetic lectures, when I received a BBM. (Yes I still have a Blackberry, don't judge me my contract is nearly over then I swear on all that is holey and my toaster that I will conform to the iPhone illuminati.)
On this BBM I was presented with a link to the trailer of the new Iron Man film. I slipped my head phones in and watched. Then I watched another three times. PRAISE BE TO JESUS THAT WAS A GOOD TRAILER.
For the next seven months, like the rest of the world I assume, I hyped that mother up big time! Here in the UK the release date was April 25th. The day before my dissertation was due. Baring this in mind I decided the best thing to do was book tickets for 5.30pm the day I handed in my dissertation. Oh boy, what a fabulous idea. You see no matter how bad my dissertation was and how bad it made me feel that day, Iron Man would make everything better.
I handed in my dissertation, laminated, bound, spell checked, blessed and doomed for a mediocre grade, at 4.30pm on April 25th. I can't even begin to tell you the joy I felt handing in that dissertation, I've never felt so free in all my life. I was giddy, but that was nothing to the emotion I would experience just an hour later.
     
OH MY LORD. What. A. Film. First off, Guy Pearce with the bad skin, greasy hair and glasses may be the most adorable evil dude ever! After that I was totally sympathetic to his cause, and I know I'm not the only one. At the end when he's ripping his shirt off my God his body is something to behold. Phew. My my. Anyway, he is great in this film, he is a great actor and there are moments in his eyes when he's looking at Pepper or kicking Tony's ass where you know he's enjoying it.
Sir Ben Kingsley in what shall now, and forever be known as the twist of the century (!) is hilarious. Nobody saw it coming, it was brilliant, and I'm not going to tell you why because it's just too darn brilliant. Once again the avid film goer is proved the power of 'the hype', the relentless interviews and trailers and promotion has been used as tool to create the Mandarin and then boom the illusion is broken in a moment.
During the promotion of this film (which I followed avidly) we were told that the relationship between Tony and Pepper would be the core. Here is my negative. For a third of the film they weren't even together. When they are there is no sign of the banter they once had, there's enough flirting to wet your appetite but then they get surly and all "I can't sleep Pepper" and "I want you to get rid of the suits Tony". More over, all the 'Pepperony' lovin' is totally eclipsed by the scene stealing  Ty Simpkins who plays Tony's best friend/side kick/wise cracking kid/ all round sweetie pie  Harley Keener. It is this duo, not Tony and Pepper, not Tony and Happy (who is missing for most of the film WTF), not Tony and Rhodey but Tony and HARLEY, who have the best chemistry. It's beautiful and hopefully Ty will get  role in Avengers 2 because he needs more screen time. I am backing this kid all the way. 
Finally, Tony. Needless to say he is perfect. Okay, not perfect I feel there could have been more ass kicking on his part. But his one liners, are enough, the whole Dora the explorer watch bit and the exploding bauballs were just so good. Robert Downey Jnr, just is Tony Stark.
It's a bad habit of mine to turn around and look at the reactions of people in the cinema, I love it when I turn and see everybody in cackling, snorting fits of laughter, or gently weeping. During this film I saw such an array, laughter, shock, fear, and confusion in that moment where Sir Ben tore it all up like an absolute bad ass. Post the Dark Knight of last summer I know a lot of people were expected a big deep, dark exploration of this character where a phoenix would be born from the torn up worn out Iron Man of the Avengers, this is certainly what the publicity has led us to believe. What was delivered was in fact, in my opinion, so much better. It gave you laughs and unfathomable twists it was so surprising at times (Sir Ben) that there was a communal in take of breath in the cinema. Thank you Shane Black for the fantastic surprise that was Iron Man 3.

Iron Man 3 =  9/10
Peace
Catherine

First Blogger Post. EVER

So I'm presuming that there is a mandatory 'first Blog post' post so here it is...

My name is Catherine as you may have guessed from my ingeniously named blog What Catherine Said. I am 20 years old and currently in my last year at uni.
I'm studying English Studies and Creative Writing and having just finished my dissertation I have made the big decision to move from Tumblr to Blogger. Big Day for everyone involved (just me).

So all you need to know is that I lovvvvvve love love writing. And adding lots of extra consonants in words for emphasissssssss. I will be writing about all kinds of things, films, music, TV all sorts.
I'll also add the occasional picture for funsies :)

That's all I'll say for now, that and I hope you enjoy and we can learn to love as only Bloggers can <3

Peace Out
Your new Blogger BFF
Catherine