Snow app

Snow app is a photosharing social network. Free to purchase, and simple to use - I see it as an app like Snapchat which is used in S.Korea. (I haven't seen the app used by people outside of S.Korea, but that doesn't stop that from being true.) It has more options for animations and allows you to save the photos as either a gif or a video. As well as animations, colour filters can be applied the size of the photo can be changed. The animation/video can then be shared onto your story, as well as onto other social media sites, such as Instagram (as seen below and Monsta X and Chonunmigooksaram's profiles.) Facial recognition for use of animations also works on the outer facing camera, not just the forward facing one like Snapchat. As well as the cutsie animations, there is also a set of B1A4 animations... I believe they are a S.Korean boyband. There fans probably enjoy this , whereas it just suprised me to have animated people climb my face.

Enjoy.

V app

To anyone who's a fan of S.Korean stars, V app allows you to chat with fans of the same artists and watch live web shows the stars broadcast, as well as videos previously recorded. Not much more can be said, really. There are not many things besides that you can do, but the fact that you get exclusive videos, and broadcasts and hear exclusives on songs, or games and tasks is pretty fun. Big Bang's T.O.P does a fierce monologue which was too genius not to miss, which the app notifies you of the upload. Many bands and stars have a channel, and often (though not always) captions are put on the videos in multiple languages so that their foreign fans can understand.

Pressing the heart botton (no. 4) elevates your Chemi-beat, as well as watching the videos and sharing them - though to be in the top 20 fans shows an extreme amount of dedication and possible injury due to the high frequency of pressing the botton over and over and over . Gotta give props to those dedicated enough.

1 closes the video

2 opens options, such as captions

3 allows you to share the video

4 lets you like the video multiple times (it refills over a space of seconds)

5 opens the chat box between fans

6 minimises the video

Simple enough.

Valfré

http://valfre.com

Valfré, founded by artist Ilse Valfre in 2012, is an accessory and apparel label. The products are so delightful, and are perfect for the Dark かわいい look, which I have searched for in vain for... Well, not too long, but ling enough. As well as caps and crop tops, there are dark かわいい patches and iPhone cases - the little accessories needed to affirm your Dark かわいい style. I especially love the prints on sale, which show some of the items in context in humorous, yet dark circumstances. Try "happy tears" for size. The prices are a good range for a store which (and here I'm pretending to understand business) concentrates on a small amount of products and is designed by one team/artist.

Big love.

Super かわいい。

For other Dark かわいい , see 

http://instagram.com/michellemoe

http://instagram.com/camilladerrico

Sandholt Bakarí

As a follow up to bar Bravó, just a little way down the road (NW I believe) is Sandholt bakery. I haven't much to say apart from they can cook up a mean pastry.

Very popular at different times of the day, with large queues forming in the takeaway area at the front, and a seated area further into the shop.

With pretzels, savory and sweet pies, cakes, and biscuits all under the same roof, why would you leave?

They also have a useful way of organising takeaway orders, much like the system used in shoe shops and post offices - take a number. Less pushing and shoving in a tiny shop, more happy costumers.

Bravó

When walking down the highstreet of Reykjavik, the inevitable happened. It started to rain yet again. Music was pouring out of all doors as the Icelandic Airwaves festival was underway -- Bravó for a reason unbeknownst to me stood out and drew me in. The music was great for starters - Weval had just started to get ready for their set and the place was brimming with people. Even for somewhere so stuffy, it was remarkably snug as opposed to claustrophobic.

The beer was great, as well as the wifi signal - do we rely on anything else these days? With a pint of Einstök pale ale coming to 900

Íkr

(aprox. £4.60), the prices were pretty good (especially compared to most bars in London).

Deffo worth a visit when in town.

Country Living - flashback to summer

Everyone living in London knows, through the thousand complaints, that there is nowhere else they'd rather live - so being dragged to the remote of remote countryside for vacation is a culture shock to say the least. Clearing the lungs of smog and hoi polloi is apparently healthy.

Things that we encountered once arriving:

The residence was so remote that it took us a few days to realise the phone lines were down - only after sweeping the yard and sitting down to take a well earned faff-about did we realise that the wifi didn't work due to lack of phone lines. The only way we got them online was because no one could contact the house to confirm our arrival.

The next day, the water to the entire village was cut, though due to the remoteness, we had no real way of knowing whether it was only our house.

When the water did finally come back, and the phone lines (and wifi) had come back, there was such a large storm that the electricity was cut. 

All in all, this relaxing country retreat has exhausted me, and I cannot wait to get back to the metropolis, and overcrowded commutes.

Japan Centre

いらっしゃいませ！

If you're ever looking for something a little different, either in terms of food, magazines, booze, and snacks, the Japan Centre has it. Granted, the magazines are in Japanese, but if you can read it, take a good gander. 

19 Shaftesbury Avenue, London. W1D 7ED. (Just off Piccadilly Circus).

With tonnes of Pocky ポッキー, melon soda メロン・ソーダ, melon bread メロン・パン, and other ridiculously good Japanese snacks, it's hard not to pop in as soon as you're in the vicinity.

If you're thinking of having dinner, right at the front of the shop, just as you get off the escalators, there are fridges with portions of nosh and pudding at reasonable prices for a pretty tasty lunch break.

Camden Rocks 2015

Let's talk about how good Camden Rocks 2015 was.

Running to Camden and eating takeaway in the queue was a slow start to the day, with people patiently waiting in the sun for ticket/wristband exchange.

Before I get to the music, everyone's annoyed by bouncers, that's just a fact. Though non of them asked for ID this year (even though you need to be at least 18 for a wristband last year some were just casual bouncers who pissed off the crowd for no reason) they did stop people entering certain venues because of overcrowding. Now this sounds like a good idea, but when they finally let you in when the set is over... Well, that does tend to piss you off.

Bands to watch out for which are genius:

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing,

Longy, (they played everywhere, a bit like Funeral For a Friend)

Jaws,

Glen Matlock,

Josh Flowers and the Wild,"Interpretive dance is still welcome" - "Don't get too sunburnt, get really pissed",

and obviously While She Sleeps - this may not seem like an obvious, but their fanbase is so tight and vibey, and the moshpit was so good that there is no way I won't see them again even for the vibe. It helps that the band is awesome and the music is bitchin.

Bullet For My Valentine were also there, and people went quite mental for them - at least half of the bruises I've accumulated are due to overzealous moshers. There were even tufts of hair on the beer-stained floor when us punters started to take our leave.

There were many more bands, but it's rather a struggle to run everywhere for hours, pushing past the crowds and tourists.

Longy in Brewdog

Longy on the lock

Josh Flowers and the Wild in Dingwalls

Tourist not bothering to pay for a ticket so just shadowing gigs

Jaws on Dingwalls' main stage 

While She Sleeps in Electric Ballroom

Glen Matlock being awesome in Proud

Snog on Southbank

Because summer is a happy time, and Snog is awesome, there is now a neon pink bus parked on the Southbank looking awesome and smelling of delicious fresh fruit. As always, the people working there are really rather happy and really rather stunning - I'm pretty sure they model in their spare time.

For delicious frozen-yoghurt joy, pop into either their London stores or their bus on the Southbank.

Äkta Människor

Har de rättigheter? Vad betyder det att vara mänsklig?

4.5/5 stars - nudity, violence, scenes of a sexual nature, and cheeky language. And it's in Swedish. Set in Sweden... With Swedes.

Äkta Människor (Real People) is a Swedish TV drama that started in 2012, and will hopfully soon announce the filming of a third series. The series is set in a not-too-distant future in Sweden where there are Hubots in everyday life - in menial work placements, as sex workers, and in pretty much every household.

You may have seen the Persona Synthetics advert on Channel 4 which was said to be selling artificial life on Regents Street - this was infact a simple publicity stunt for the new TV drama Humans, which I believe is starting next month. I think there will be quite a strong similarity between Äkta Människor and Humans.

Äkta Människor follows more than one storyline, showing a family with a new Hubot in their home, families torn appart by trnsion in the ranks, and a group of self aware robots (Hubots). Now, what's important here is that you either know Swedish, or the subtitles are good enough to keep up with the dialogue, as the way the actors playing Hubots deliver and perform is quite something.

I know very few Swedish actors, but look who it is! Kåre Hedebrant, who played Oskar in Let the Right One In (2008) is deffo still a genius actor. Hedebrant plays Tobias who forms an attachment to his families Hubot, Anita, played by Lisette Pagler - According to imdb.com Äkta Människor is Pagler's first film work - pressumably she's done stage work in the past, because she rocks this role. 

It's really rather difficult to describe anything without giving the plot away, and even as I type this, oh my what a cliffhanger!

Random brain noises

This has been quite a(n academic) year - things of interest include London Comic Con, Example's intriguing (build indoor cinema/swimming pool, check), FKA Twigs has beasted all performances with ethereal music (even wearing awesome clothing such as Zana Bayne), though this jump to mainstream attention has gotten some real outrageous racial hate. BigBang is back this year, after G Dragon made friends with genius-Karl in France. There also seems to be a vague nostalgia notion with those born in the nineties finding their vintage clothing from their own closets - All I've done is watch 90's TV shows, charge my GameBoy Advance, and form an emotional bond with Spike's (Marsters) cheekbones.

Pastels have faded in the eyes of the hoi polloi, bleached, alien colours are now the only real delicious colours left to chose from to stand out from the masses.

Oh, and I passed my second year of uni. One more year, and I'll have to change the blog from "undergrad", to "job seeker".

Hey, have you been watching Game of Thrones !?

Music Festivals This Summer

Aside from the most famous, such as Glasto, Leeds, Reading, etc., there are many an awesome festival going on this Summer.

30th May 2015 - Camden Rocks, London, UK - Though this is technically in spring, it has the best of vibes, and is in one of the coolest areas of London. The secret headliners have yet to be announced, but the likes of Funeral for a Friend, and Modestep are performing.

11th-14th June 2015 - Isle of Wight Festival, Isle of Wight (no kidding). - Blur, Fleetwood Mac, The Prodigy are all on the main stage, as well as shite-loads of others acts.

12th-14th June 2015 - Download Festival, Donington Park, UK. This just makes me smile: Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace, Lamb of God, Enter Shikari, Funeral for a Friend, Black Veil Brides, Marilyn Manson, Eagles of Death Metal (fuck yes!), and Dragonforce. oh, and The Struts - Do they play everywhere or what ?

19th-21st June 2015 - Secret Solstice Fest, Reykjavik, Iceland. This looks terribly fantastic, This "midnight sun music festival" is hosted on the solstice - it will be daylight for all three days. The line-up? Just as awesome, with Wu-Tang, The Wailers, FKA Twigs, Foreign Beggars, Kelis, MØ, and loads more, including Thugfucker, who I've never heard of, but look like right vibers.

9th-11th July 2015 - 2000trees, Cotswold Hills, UK. The Skints, The Xcerts, and Pulled Apart by Horses in the same festival! Do you really need another reason to go!? 

31st July-2nd August 2015 - Y Not Festival, Pikehall, Derbyshire. Allusondrugs (these guys are playing everywhere), We Are the Ocean, Fealess Vampire Killers (also at Download), Pulled Apart by Horses (I have such a good vibe about seeing them live, I bet they're awesome). oh, and did I mention Snoop Dogg !? -- Just announced - The Xcerts are also playing!

20th-22nd August 2015 - Pukkelpop, Belgium, is looking awesome, with Enter Shikari, George Ezra, Lido, The Dilinger Escape Plan, Charli XCX, Bastille, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Paolo Nutini, Seasick Steve, Rudimental, and Ellie Goulding.

The Leather Satchel Co.

Ummmm. I got a new bag, and I think it's fab.

 http://www.leathersatchel.com/

There are many designs, styles, colours - and lovely leather can't really go wrong, can it?

It's really roomy, the description for this particular bag is approx. 15"x12", and about 3"-4", depending on how much you squeeze in (maybe not the first usage, as the leather is really sturdy).

As you can see above, the bag is suitable for many an item, from Guinness, to GameBoy. And especially as the weather is getting warmer, who wants to have a hot and sweaty rucksack on their back.

Items in order of appearance:

Sunglasses (Urban Outfitters).

Don Quixote, Cervantes.

Glass, metal, and leather flask (Greenwich Market).

Wooden pipe (antique shop).

Baby's pacifier.

Nintendo GameBoy Advance.

Guinness.

Faux-lace mask.

Burberry Body.

Nail varnish- Korres 25, and 72. Barry M, 438.

Mushroom mug (Gift Republic).