Natalie Vincent

I am aware, that when I started this blog that it would be covering things of a sci-fi nature. But after reading a certain story in tonight's Evening Standard , I had to speak out. Sally Bercow, wife of the Speaker of our House of Commons is clearly bored. Not content with her husband presiding over Parliamentary sessions, she has taken to Twitter to air her views on absolutely everything. This week, failing retailers Carpetright, Thorntons and Jane Norman have come in for some spectacularly ill-timed and wincingly juvenile criticism, a la Bercow. Of Thorntons: 'yuck tasting rip-off' Of Carpetright 'over-rated' Of Jane Norman: only sold 'clothes for skinny minies (sic)' Not only can Bercow, an alumus of independent school Marlborough College, have trouble spelling (minies, anybody?), she also displays breathtaking insensitivity towards the thousands of staff who have lost their jobs as a result of store closures. Interesting to note that Habitat, also in adm...

Us girls finally have our very own Da Vinci Code novel - with angels. Lauded as the new bad-asses of supernatural fiction, with Legion and Supernatural as prime examples, this new offering cuts a hefty swathe through the reams of pithy vampire-fiction out there, (anyone for a sparkling vampire?) courtesy of Stephanie Mayer and co. This one definitely ain't one for the tweenies..... Angelology follows Evangeline, a young nun in Upstate NY who stumbles onto a millienia-old battle between the fallen angels of old Testament fame who took a fancy to human women; their offspring, The Nephilim, and a group of anti-angel secret service agents. Richard Dawkins would just be salivating at the thought. In the meantime, a young art historian is approached by a mysterious family, headed by a menacing old man who appears to be hiding something.... The story jumps between present day New York and World War II Paris and Eastern Europe, where the quest is on to find an item of impossible value...

Well folks, it looks like my quasi-prediction came true for the much hyped Wonder Woman series. After announcing their autumn 2011 schedule NBC have decided not to pick up the series after a truly dour response from preview audiences. The now-cancelled production, plagued with poor script choices (anyone for an Ally McBeal-esque superheroine? No, me either) and a truly appalling costume redesign (read: blue PVC leggings and boots) just goes to prove that it was a disaster in the making. Message to David.E.Kelley: Read the actual comic. Lots of lovely script ideas there. DON'T MAKE UNNECESSARY REBOOTS/UPDATES. The new costume, triple identity plot (WTF?) and 'updating' of the character was too much. If you really must reboot something, just choose one aspect. Although in light of the furore, perhaps not the costume. For the love of God, you should have hired a female writer. Jane Goldman proved her mettle with X-Men: First Class despite a couple of blatant continuity error...

Having now read all the Twilight novels, and seen 3/5 of the movie series, I'm now feeling some malaise about the messages Stephanie Meyer has put across. Now, I put my hands up and admit; the books sucked me in for 10 days straight; a friend of mine who lent me her copies was quite amused, as I had successfully avoided the craze for a good two years, and archly replied to the inevitable 'Team Edward or Jacob?' question, "No idea, I refuse to read them' (I'm Team Jacob, just in case you were wondering). Some things which frustrate me about the books and films: 1) Apparently it is acceptable for girls to string along two men at once under the excuse, 'I love both of you'. Christ, if I'd just been abandoned in favour of flouncing off to Italy, I would have just kicked the whiny cow to the kerb. Oh Jacob, you were fine to hang out with/lead on/save me while the Cullan clan were off gallivanting, but now Edward's airy-fairy sister has turned up, yo...

So we are now two weeks away from the most radical referendum this country has seen - the outcome of this vote could potentially change the way our General Election votes are counted - not, if you vote no. This isn't a blog post designed as propaganda for the Yes vote, by the way. I might as well say straight off the bat that I will be voting YES, purely as the NO camp haven't come up with any decent or considered arguments for their cause. And the less said about the Tories or the BNP's involvement the better.... No, this blog is not pushing for YES or NO, just for people to get out there and VOTE. There is a worrying amount of voter apathy in the air - brought on in part by the leadership of one Mssr Clegg. As hated as he is by students, liberals alike, some quarters are considering avoiding the vote altogether. WHY??? Yes, it would be a good kick in the nuts to Clegg for whoring his soul away for some Downing St action, but we run a very real risk of cutting our noses o...

I wanted to write a response to this Guardian article I saw. However, I just kept writing and that I actually wanted to write this for my blog. As we now approach the summer 'blockbuster' film season, the final instalment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows beckons, feverishly anticipated by millions of fans. Of course, fans of these and other books already know what becomes of their heroes; so why must we anxiously see it on the big screen? For me, it boils down to a conflict between wanting to see if a director's vision for a book plays out with mine on-screen, and then resignation at how much of the story is cut out from the final edit. For example, my first disappointment in the Harry Potter series came in Alfonso Cauron's The Prisoner of Azkaban when he switched the mysterious gift of a Firebolt broom to the closing scenes. It removed much of the suspenseful build-up to revealing Harry's 'would-be' murderer, and replaced it with a rushed, smug...

Does anybody else's heart sink when you hear about protests in central London these days? Saturday's anti cuts protest saw another escalation taking place in Trafalgar Square; the ironic thing is that I was there the previous day with thousands of tourists enjoying the sunshine. What a difference a day makes. Again accusations flew back and forth between police and protesters of brutality and troublemaking; on both sides. It makes me almost wish for the days of the Iraq War and foxhunting marches; people marched, they made themselves heard, they went home afterwards. Today, Home Secretary Theresa May announced that she would consider allowing police to ban the use of masks and balaclavas at protests. Now, far from being a fan of our very own ConDem-ned government, I nevertheless found myself nodding vigorously at the radio. If protesters are there peacefully, why is there a need hide your face? Surely you should be proud to support your cause. Unless of course it involves sma...