Mind Blowing Stuff

I have just gotten home from watching The Avengers. And all I can say is... wow. Just... wow. Now, this isn't only me speaking as a Marvel freak. Even non-Marvel fans were pretty blown away.
We watched it in 3D and that made the special effects absolutely awe inspiring. I was a little bewildered at one point with bangs and explosions and flashing lights coming from all directions. I wasn't sure where to look.
I really liked that they brought all the Marvel heroes together. I love Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans. The Hulk, while making me very nervous, was totally boss. My only complaint with this movie was that Chris Evans didn't appear shirtless at any point. But besides me splitting hairs over something extremely unimportant in the grand scheme of the movie?
This movie was ABSOLUTELY BLOODY BRILLIANT.
So, if you've watched it: Well done. If you haven't watched it yet: What the heck are you waiting for?

The Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver

YA fantasy novels are my poison. I LOVE them. I know I'm in my third year of varsity, I know I should be reading more grown up books. But you know what? I don't care.

So, last year I was browsing through Top Books and I saw this book. I read the back and thought that it looked interesting. Once I read it, I realised that it wasn't just interesting, it was AWESOME.

The Demon Trappers series is set in the year 2018 in Atlanta. Demons are running around all over the place and the demon trappers are responsible for keeping the demons in check. Riley Blackthorne is a demon trapper who finds herself caught up in the fight between Heaven and Hell. Riley is the kind of heroine that is sometimes hard to like but you can't help rooting for her in the end.  

Okay, I won't lie, typing that felt kinda... silly. But seriously, give these books a try. They are, in reading order, Forsaken, Forbidden, Forgiven and Foretold. Foretold hasn't been released yet but the first three are already available. 

Check out Jana Oliver on Twitter (@crazyauthorgirl) and you can check her website out here

Busy Busy Bee

Just a quick one to let you know that I haven't forgotten about you! I'm so sorry that I've been so quiet but I just have a mountain of work to do right now. As soon as I'm done, Thursday I think, I'll be back.
I hope that you've all had a to die for weekend and I'll speak to you on Thursday.
Much love!

Old Dogs Learning New Tricks

I have been a Korn fan for many years. I like their moody, angsty lyrics and Jonathan Davis's gruff, growly voice (surprising from such a soft-spoken man). There is nothing better after a particularly bad day than singing along to Korn, just to vent.

Path of Totality is different from any Korn album I've heard before. It incorporates a genre of music called "dubstep", which, until very recently, I'd never heard of before. Let me take a minute to explain what dubstep is for those of you who are unfamiliar with the genre. uDubstep.com describes dubstep as an electronic form of music that combines heavy bass with samples, synthesiser, keyboard, turntables and "hard hitting drum tracks". I won't lie to you, this means next to nothing to me. Usually anything vaguely "electronic" has me wrinkling my nose and changing the channel.

But oddly enough I think this odd couple, metal and dubstep, work out fabulously. There have been mixed reviews with a couple of metal-heads shuddering at the idea of fusing electronic dance music with their beloved heavy metal. I can see where they're coming from on this one. I normally hate it when bands move off of the awesome beaten path and experiment with a new sound. Take Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight for example. The results are were not pretty. But I think that Path of Totality still sounds"Korn-y". My favourite songs on the album are Narcissistic Cannibal featuring Skrillex and Kill the Noise, Get Up featuring Skrillex and Fuels the Comedy featuring Kill the Noise.


Path of Totality will not be for everyone. Many loyal metal-heads and dubsteppers will consider this album an abomination that must never be spoken of again. But I like it. Give it a listen if you're in the mood for something different. 

Freaky Friday

Today is Friday the thirteenth. While many of us are going "Uh-huh. So?", a whole bunch of other people are expecting bad luck to be hiding around every corner just waiting to kick them in the behind. So, this morning I found myself wondering, what is the big deal? Where did this whole superstition come form?

I find that there isn't one set answer. There are loads of other explanations as to why people freak out on this one particular day. Here are a few of the more interesting reasons I found:

• Christian theology doesn't like Fridays very much because most of the really awful events in Christian history happened on a Friday: the great floods, the Crucifiction, and Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. The number thirteen is significant because there were thirteen people at the Last Supper and Judas was the thirteenth person to arrive.
• Scandinavians believed that thirteen was an unlucky number because their original twelve demigods were joined by a thirteenth god, Loki. Loki was an evil god who got his kicks by making humans suffer.
• 1307-10-13, the Pope and the King of France issued an death warrant for the Knights Templar accusing them of being heretics. The leader of the Knights Templar was tortured and crucified. The day was declared to be one of evil.

The fear of Friday is known as "dekatriaphobia" and the fear of the number thirteen is known as "triskaidekaphobia" (wow, that's a mouthful). Other interesting thirteen tidbits include the fact that there are usually thirteen steps to the gallows and thirteen knots in the hangman's noose.

Freaky stuff, huh?

On that note, I wish you all a fabulous Friday! Don't go looking for bad luck, it will no doubt find you...

Isadore

Two things:
Firstly, I'm an Incubus FREAK.
Secondly, it is Easter weekend.
Okay, at this point you're probably thinking, "And your point is...?"
Easter is arguably the most important day in the Christian calender and loads of people are going to spend this weekend in church. Now, I'm not a particularly religious person but I firmly believe that there is somebody or something out there, pulling the strings. I'm not trying to be blasphemous when I say this but I felt really close to "God" today just by listening to an Incubus song. It sounds dumb but I really did.

You know when you're looking at a really pretty sunset? Or at a new born baby and, holy crap, everything is just perfect? I think you experience God everywhere, not just in church. So, I was listening to Isadore off of Incubus's new album "If Not Now, When?" and I was just in awe. His voice can only have come from some higher power because it has this unearthly quality to it.

Maybe it's just me. This is a video I found on youtube. Another Incubus fan, GABYINCUBUSMcCARTNEY, uploaded it. If you want to see some more Incubus videos, check her out here

For those of you celebrating Easter, I hope you have a blessed weekend with your family and friends.

For those of you not celebrating Easter, I hope that you have a blessed weekend with your family and friends.

We don't discriminate here ;)

Melancholy...

I was listening to "Safe As Houses" by aKing this morning and it got me thinking about Duncan Allan. I can't explain why but every time I hear this song, I think about this young man.

For those of you who don't know who Duncan Allan is, I'll give you a brief rundown. He was a student at TUKS. He was in my Spanish class and I'll be completely honest, I didn't have much patience for him. He seemed to me to be loud and obnoxious. And then I heard that he'd gone missing. He had last been seen on a Monday after having had his car serviced. The police found him a few days later. He was dead. He had killed himself.

So, the reason I'm bringing this up now is that I learnt a very important lesson: stop being so damn judgey. That is something that I'm guilty of and I'm working on it. I don't know what it is about "Safe As Houses" that gets me going. I think it might be the line, "you're still young and breathing's easy, suck it in". Duncan obviously didn't feel that way.

If you're ever feeling totally bummed, just remember that there ARE people who love you and will miss you when you're gone. Don't hurt those people by taking yourself away from them.

Here are the lyrics to "Safe As Houses" to those of you who would like to check it out:

I like looking at the sky

As the wind plays through

The skirts of the trees

The silence knows 

How afraid we are of it

Cherished memories

Bleed and bloom

Our secrets like seeds

Get swept up and carried through

Our neighbourhood

Safe as houses

Tuck me in

Daylight waits for no man

You're still young and breathing's easy

Suck it in

What a waste this facade

What a pity we've come this far

The rain will fall and baptise

Our strongholds, our sheltered lives

Closed blinds, drawn curtains

And vinyl floors can't hide

Stained memories bleed and bloom

Our secrets like weeds

Creeps like weeds to the roof of our neighbourhood

Safe as houses

Tuck me in

Daylight waits for no man

You're still young and breathing's easy

Suck it in

What a waste this facade

What a pity we've come this far

Now luscious denial

Our devoured minds

Our thoughts remain impotent

Our pillows stay fertile

Safe as houses

Tuck me in 

Daylight waits for no man

You're still young and breathing's easy

Suck it in

What a waste this facade

What a pity we've come this far

What a pity we've come this far

For more aKing lyrics from their Dutch Courage album go here. 

Have a happy Monday beautiful people!