irinarichards

[irinarichards]

Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl [Official Video]

Now, I’m not a fan of popular music at all, nor am I fan of Ed Sheeran (I only know him because my son and my students at work listen to him!) I just love this video tho! Saoirse Ronan’s “Galway girl” is ME pre-kids!

[irinarichards]

Ever since I started reading Archie as a teen, I liked Veronica as a character but always identified with Betty more. (Surely at the end of the day, all girls/women are either Betty or Veronica?..)

Now after this (Riverdale ep 10) I know I am a million per cent Betty.

PS I think Betty and Jughead are OTP, Veronica can keep Archie if she likes!

But I think that’s what makes me do these crazy things…

[irinarichards]

(from Archie issue #15, 2015)

This sums up my life exactly! (I am a massive fan of Archie comics btw (grew up with them)! Oh, and Riverdale!)

[irinarichards]

My entry for #ommadrawn competition by #mikeoldfield. I've been a fan of Mike Oldfield's music for, ah... most of my life, I think. Years ago when I was a teen, I used to spend all my out-of-school time drawing an epic-scale graphic novel (who didn't, right?) and listening to Mike Oldfield on loop. Mike's music has became so intertwined with my own creativity and I always find a never-ending fountain of inspiration in it. This scene in the comic where the protagonist takes part in ritual dancing was inspired by Ommadawn, so I re-drew it for the competition. It made me realize how much I'd missed these characters! I'd love to retell the story, it'd be quite different, more adult orientated I guess? Maybe someday!

[irinarichards]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzL3xGiREBs)

#onethingyoudidntknowaboutme I am a long-time fan of Degrassi. I’ve watched it ever since Principal Simpson was a student! No joke! (No, I’m not THAT old really... it’s just there was a lot of the original Degrassi on Russian TV in the 90s!)

Anyways, I’ve really enjoyed Degrassi’s latest incarnation, Next Class. Season 3 was out on Friday and I binged-watched it in its entirety in less than 24 hours (don’t judge...) I love it that it isn’t just a bunch of teens on social media, it’s a lot more than that. This season deals with a lot of darker themes. One of the characters, Maya, is dealing with depression and I really like how they handled the issue. I have experienced depression myself, as have many other people I know. I can perfectly relate to many emotions Maya is experiencing. The art block, feeling scared, food refusal, feeling of numbness. And it’s true that “depression is a life-long battle”. It may come back any time. There isn’t a way to permanently “fix” a person as Maya’s mother attempts to. It’s something a person learns to live with, and, if they’re lucky, harness and control.

This song by Maya is from Episode 10 #ImSleep - I just find it very inspirational.

If you have (or have had) depression and you’re reading this, stay strong. 

[irinarichards]

Happy 2017!

You can be your own personal trainer.

Your own stylist.

Your own nutritionist, job councellor, life coach.

All you need to do is listen to yourself, hear yourself, follow yourself.

Be your own inspiration.

The power lies within.

[irinarichards]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TG63Zhge1w)

The original Ommadawn is not one of my fave MO albums (I’d still listen to it tho, obvs!) Even so, I’m just really bouncy at the prospect of a new MO album! This extract sounds very much in the style of the 1975 Ommadawn. I like the vocals on it. And 2:43 THAT EXCELLENT GUITAR SOLO OMG IS HE GOD OR WHAT!!..erm, sorry. Anyways, much to look forward to!

P.S. MO may be a musical genius but this cover art is a bit naff. It’s like a darker overpaint of a still from Frozen where they are battling Marshmallow (the giant snow giant) outside Elsa’s castle :D

[irinarichards]

So 2017 will bring a new album by Mike Oldfield (Return to Ommadawn)...

and a sequel to Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.

AMAZING OR WHAT!

[irinarichards]

I’ve been pigging out on MO’s old videos all day today (only 1 kid at home as opposed to 3 = DAY OFF!) and made a meme (yay+facepalm) Seems like even in his younger years, Mike was good at doing more than one thing at once. His childcare skills put me to shame!

Just FYI, the video is Mike Oldfield’s 1980 cover of The Shadows’ “Wonderful Land”, and the baby in the video is the authoress and QI researcher extraordinaire Molly Oldfield.

[irinarichards]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxU2TZCZnlE)

This is so brilliant. On so many levels.

(Song from Wet Hot American Summer : First Day of Camp)

[irinarichards]

Recently I’ve realised I started answering to Irene. Lots of other mums in the village don’t know what my name is exactly, so they just call me “Irene”. It’s quite close to my real name, so I don’t mind ^^ Especially as Mike Oldfield has a song called “Irene”. In an interview, MO said when we was writing this song he was thinking of a “CRAZY WOMAN, EVIL!” Darn right :)

“She’ll wreck ya, you betcha”

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJgZcoXVNrA)

[irinarichards]

Somehow after this joke, seeing a tin of “chopped tomatoes” in my food cupboard will never be the same again.

[irinarichards]

I JUST DIED!!!!

Blackmore’s Night did a cover of Mike Oldfield’s Moonlights Shadow!!!

MIKE OLDFIELD!!! My all-time favourite artist! Covered by BLACKMORE’S NIGHT!!! My fourth all-time favourite artist!!! (after Clannad and Loreena McKenitt)!!!

*gathers her breath*

Candice and Ritchie, I love you very, very much and your first two albums as Blackmore’s Night are perfection and take me right back to my 15-year-old self listening to them on my Walkman standing in the back of a trolleybus (if you don’t know what a trolleybus is, Google is your friend.) But that’s beside the point (quoting Ritchie Blackmore himself). But please, please stop covering great songs from the past that are already great without the pseudo-medieval gloss of fancy Blackmore-esque guitar fingerwork. Oldfield is Oldfield, he is equal to no other and always will be. And I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard what one of the world’s greatest guitarists of all time (i.e. Blackmore) did to MO’s guitar solo! I’m sorry, but 13-year-old Youtubers could do better! As for Candice’s rendition, well... Candice is a lovely beautiful lady, she’s a typical Taurus (sorry, I’m a firm believer in horoscopes!) - she is best at home with her kids (which is evident from her latest music videos and her “solo album” which is a glorified kids’ bedtime CD!), her voice is OK, but no more than that. Her vocals don’t even stand close to Maggie Reilly, sweet as they are.

Conclusion: Bad Blackmore’s Night, BAD! Smack hand! Go back to the studio and record some original material! (Oh, and don’t touch Oldfield!)

PS: I once said that I’d buy anything Mike Oldfield released, even if it’s an album of nursery rhymes (and wouldn’t it be amazing to play those to my kids!). Well, seems like that’s exactly what Candice had in mind with her “Starlight Starbright”!

PPS: Oh, and “stardust flowing in the silvery night”? WTF???

[irinarichards]

*me and my eldest having a chat about what he wants to be when he grows up*

Him: ... and when I stop being a policeman I want to do Daddy’s job [school teacher] and then I’ll do your job.

Me: Yes, but Daddy’s job brings a lot more money than mine.

Him: Yes, because anyone can draw! Even babies!

Me: *jawdrop*

[irinarichards]

Hello from Sweatdrop!

We’re over the moon to be launching the second and final volume of Chemical Blue by @irinarichards this weekend at London Comic Con!

In volume 2 of Chemical Blue… It’s all happening at Emery College – and big changes are underway, as Shawn is all loved-up, Leanne is nursing a broken heart (again!), and Kelly is up to something even Amber can’t figure out. And someone else seems to have taken a shine to Amber – but would it prove to be a nuisance or a blessing in disguise?

Be sure to swing by the table and pick up this beautiful book! If you’ve yet to pick up volume 1, check out our deals at the event to get a bundle set of the complete story!

[irinarichards]

And something completely art un-related! This is a screencap from a while ago, I follow those two people completely unrelated to each other (I know Hayden from Sweatdrop and Daria (lettipaa) from a Russian blog site diary.ru), and one retweeted the other! Talk about six degrees of separation!

[irinarichards]

(x-posted from my website)

Hi all, I have some fantastic news to share - the second volume of Chemical Blue has now been completed and printed! I'm sure there'll be more information from Sweatdrop Studios about it soon - but in the meantime, if you are going to London Comic-Con this October, it'll be available from Sweatdrop stall, and later on you can buy it online in the Sweatdrop shopand on Amazon! I'm so happy I finished this story, it's been such a massive part of my life for so long. I feel like I've unlocked a tremendous achievement! (Although, on a personal level, I'll have an even bigger achievement to unlock in a few days' time T_T) Volume 2 has taken quite a few years to make, in-between kids, jobs, house moves etc. but I feel really happy that I persevered with it and never gave up on the story and characters. They are as real to me as any IRL people I know, and I love them to bits (so much that I even named my daughter after the protagonist :)) So please so check out the book if you can! Thanks ~*