Dawson's Creek reminds me of Harry Potter

Recently, I've been going through a bit of a phase (shock horror). I was a bit young to watch Dawson's Creek when it first came out, being precisely six years old, but a few months ago my good friend Rosie (who designed Alma Grove's logo and wrote this blog post) introduced me to the joys of living in Capeside. Now I'm ever-so-slightly obsessed.

Here's another fun fact about me (and I totally understand if you want to stop reading after this sentence) (but at the same time I really don't): I absolutely LOVE listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks, read by Stephen Fry. I've always preferred listening to people talking than listening to music, and Stephen's superior tones often soothe my ruffled mind when I'm getting ready in the morning. The thing is, because I'm watching a lot of Dawson's Creek and listening a lot to Harry Potter, I can't help noticing that they're actually surprisingly similar...

7 ways in which I would improve Elysium [SPOILERS]

The other night, Alex and I went to see the newly-released Elysium. I thought it was ok, but I feel that I could have made it better:

"There's a hole in my soul" - the World's biggest conspiracy theory

Who's up for a game? I'm going to throw some song lyrics at you, and your challenge is to spot the theme. Ready? Let's go.

• Hey, show some love / You ain't so tough / Come fill my little world right up / Right up - Fill My Little World, The Feeling
• There's a hole in my soul / I can't fill it, I can't fill it / There's a hole in my soul / Can you fill it, can you fill it? - Flaws, Bastille
• Well that is it, guys, that is all, five minutes in and I'm bored again - Some Nights, Fun.
• I am lost, I am vain / I will never be the same / Without you - Without You, David Guetta
• The scars of your love remind me of us / They keep me thinking that we almost had it all - Rolling in the Deep, Adele
• I know that I've got issues / But you're pretty messed up too / Either way I found out I'm nothing without you - My Life Would Suck Without You, Kelly Clarkson

What's the verdict? You might have noticed a couple of strands emerging - dissatisfaction with life, and the idea that finding somebody to love will complete you. 

Why the British can't handle their cheese

I don't know many people who wouldn't agree that a slice of lightly-toasted white bread is improved enormously by an oozing layer of melted mature Cheddar. And yet, when it comes to cheese in its abstract form, most prevalent in American TV drama series, we wince and cringe. Why is it that we, as a nation, cannot produce or watch cheesiness without grimacing?

My investigation begins with a definition of the term 'cheesy'. I would describe a cheesy moment as one that is needlessly sentimental and completely unrealistic, which is blatantly motivated by a need to manipulate the whole audience's emotions, with the subtlety of Taylor Swift. Here is a classic cheesy moment demonstrated by Cameron Diaz in The Holiday: