The not-exactly-weekly playlists

I have started making odd compilation videos of footage I shot in the week, and accompanied it with my whispering commentary of the songs I've taken a particular interest in.

 

Check how I blates said music and footage of that week - I have no real control over workload or schedule and so have no real clue when I am able to sit down for a few minutes or hours and edit everything together.

 

As the first video was so fun to make, and have decided upon keeping hat style for a little longer, unil the world runs out of songs, or I lose steam on the production of these playlists.

This is the main reason as to why I'm whispering the commentary -- I edit them when the house has fallen still, and whisper into the microphone so as not to disturb anyone - That has now become my style, like a try-hard pirate radio dj.

What I've learnt from my overseas friends

"I'll meet you at 10 o'clock":

English friends: I'll meet you +/- 10mins.

Scottish friends: Same as English, except would have found a table and already bought a round of drinks.

German friends: Will meet at exactly 10 o'clock, not late nor early. And also won't tell you if early, as only expected at 10:00.

Greek friends: I'll definitely see you some time today.

Viki app

Viki is an app which allows you to watch tv from around the world. Though I may be incorrect in saying this, I believe most of the shows on the app are of South Korea. The shows subtitled into many different languages and are shown in high quality.

Not only do they show tv series, but also fact files on actors, (lifestyle) news articles and works the actors have been in which are available to watch on Viki.

Half the joy is watching a show with comments written in real-time by other audiences, as at the peak of episodes, their reaction is priceless (eg. The tension before the classic K Drama kiss scenes, watch the comments blow up and blur across the top of the screen).

(Sassy Go Go)

(Siwon in She Was Pretty is spectacular and worth a watch, btw.)

(Scholar Who Walks the Night)

(You're Surrounded)

(Moon Embracing the Sun)

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