Hurry along Pippin!

Pippin and Auntie Mabel

Every so often, in an attempt to try and bring back pleasant childhood memories, I like to take trips down memory lane. Usually the best way of doing this is remembering the TV shows I used to watch. Very recently, I was reminded of an educational kids show called ‘Come Outside’. The star of the show was a dog called Pippin, who was really clever and did some amazing things – none of which I can clearly recall, but nevertheless still clever. The best part of the show was the multi coloured aeroplane which Auntie Mabel (Pippin’s owner) flew around to get to various locations where she’d embark on educational adventures. I learnt so much about how things work, for example how streetlights work, what happens to waste when it’s flushed down the toilet and how bread is made. Deep.

“Now I’m mad, real mad #JoeJackson”

Words cannot describe the extreme anger and frustration exhibited on Joe Jackson’s face. The stress, the anguish, the intensity, the pain.

Are mobile phones losing their character?

Samsung Galaxy (Left) and iPhone 4 (Right)

Walk into a mobile phone store these days and you’ll notice that most of the phones look the same; black in colour, huge screens and possibly one small button at the bottom. It’s almost impossible to tell the difference between two phones anymore.

The main reason behind the new look smartphone is the desire for more content. The very function of a mobile ‘phone’ is no longer about sending texts, or calling a mate, it’s now about browsing the web, gps, video recording and taking photos. All these activities require a larger screen which makes the most of every millimetre of the phone’s size. Gone are the days when mere buttons and a black and white screen were enough to communicate effectively; it’s all about the touch screen now.

A touch screen is a bit like marmite; you either love it or hate it. The traditionalist will always opt for a mobile with buttons, it’s familiar and provides the user with something they can actually feel and touch. Unlike a touch screen, which is often quite difficult to get to grips with, buttons provide the user with feedback after pressing each button - when you’ve pressed a button, you know you’ve pressed it.

Anyway, enough about buttons. The main difference is the lack of character and personality in modern mobile phones. Essentially, it’s just a screen. Where’s the design and individuality? Nowadays, the only way to inject some taste and style into a smartphone is adding an accessory – like a phone cover or sock.



Old skool - Nokia 3200  (Left) and Nokia 3310 (Right)

Not surprisingly, when more than one product looks and feels similar, a legal dispute is almost always inevitability. In April 2011, Apple sued Samsung for an alleged infringement of their design patent, claiming Samsung had “savishly” copied its product design. At the moment, the legal battle between Apple and Samsung lies mainly with patents for operating software. Samsung are currently attempting to counter sue Apple concerning an alleged patent infringement for operating systems within both phones. The case is to be heard in Australia next month.

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I came acrosss this funny advert while searching for images of old phones.


"No larger than a cordless phone" "Fits in your briefcase"

              

Ice Prince ft. Brymo 'Oleku'

<3 Afrobeat 

Happy Pancake Day!...or should I say 'Shrove Tuesday'?

Flippin' pancakes!

Let’s face it, pancakes don’t really need their own day or the PR - everyone loves pancakes. So why does a whole day need to be devoted towards making and eating pancakes?

The answer lies with the Catholic season of Lent. Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is the day preceding Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent, when Catholics observe forty days of prayer and fasting while remembering when Jesus spent forty days and forty nights in the desert before embarking on His public ministry. For many Catholics, this means giving up something precious or a luxury which they enjoy eating, usually something like chocolate, chips, sweets or meat.

Okay, so how does Pancake Day fit into all this? Well, the day before Lent started, it was customary for most people to use up all the ‘luxury’ items in their house (eggs, milk, flour and sugar). It just so happened that pancakes was what they cooked, hence Pancake Day.

Ouch!

A brawl erupted between British boxers Dereck Chisora and David Haye over the weekend

Sting 'Englishman In New York'

Really digging this song right now. Got it on repeat.

St Valentine Special: Michael Jackson's first date

Here's a video of Michael Jackson, aged 14 on the TV show 'The Dating Game'. This video is so funny! Michael looks uncomfortable at times and the three girls he has to pick from (Latany, Venus and Demetra) are only 10 years old. Considering their age, these girls are too excited - I mean talking about going to a 'hotel' after a date is a bit much… LOL, look out for Michael's facial reactions to the girl's answers, it's jokes.

In the end Michael picks a girl. The prize is quite good, they get to go to a restaurant, watch the Jackson 5 perform in concert and stay at the Marriot Hotel in New York city. Rest assured, the two were accompanied by a 'Dating Game' chaperon.

Hash tag rapping #TheFuture

#RickyBobby

Hash tag rapping uses a word or name to act as a metaphor for what is being described in the song. Its invention can be traced to Kanye Wests’ ‘Barry Bonds’ (2007) where the successful Baseball League career of Barry Bonds is likened to Wests’ ability to create musical hits.

“And here’s another hit #BarryBonds”

West does it quite often, a personal favourite would be his verse on Drake’s ‘Over’ where he uses the language learning software ‘Rosetta Stone’,
“I could teach you how to speak my language #RosettaStone”

Young Money artist Lil Wayne features on ‘Barry Bonds’ and together with the rest of the YMCMB crew, they’ve taken hash tag rap to the next level. Here are a few samples of their work.

“Swimmin’ in the money come find me #Nemo” Drake ‘Forever’
Drake is referring to the popular Disney Pixar film ‘Finding Nemo’

“I race for your love, shake and bake #RickyBobby” Drake ‘Bedrock’
Okay, this one’s a little tricky to explain… The character Ricky Bobby is a car racer in the film ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’ and he uses the phrase ‘shake n’ bake’ to put down his competitors when he races i.e. “It’s shake n’ bake time”. Shake n’ Bake is a reference to the popular Kraft Foods breadcrumb flavoured coating, usually sprinkled on chicken or pork. So Drake is putting down other competitors in a race to win the love of a particular lady.

I’m a star #SheriffBadge – Nicki Minaj ‘Make Me Proud’
Sheriff badges are star shaped so she’s comparing the two.

Some other favourites:

“I am the future #DelorianDoors” will.i.am 'T.H.E (The Hardest Ever)'
Love this one.

“She make me wanna leave the one I’m with #UsherRaymond” Kevin McCall ‘Deuces’
A classic reference to Usher’s old skool hit ‘You Make Me Wanna’ and a brilliant use of hash tag rap.

“Now I’m flier than the birds #RichardBranson” Dappy ‘No Regrets’

Sherlock back for Third Season

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock (Left) and Martin Freeman as Dr Watson (Right)

Yep, that’s right! Sherlock will be back on our screens for another season!! #excited.

Critics love Sherlock, and viewing figures confirm that audiences do as well, with average ratings as high as 7.9 million.

Season two finished two weeks ago but left viewers unsure as to whether Sherlock would return for a third season. It seemed as if Sherlock had died, but later he reappeared at the very last moment. So, if Sherlock isn’t dead, but everyone thinks he is, how exactly is he going to reveal himself? Answer: I don’t know.

The final scenes from season two show Dr Watson lamenting over Sherlock’s grave, wishing that somehow – as if by magic – he was still alive. Undoubtedly, the show would not be complete without the on-going ‘bromance’ between Sherlock and Dr Watson. Both characters depend on each other, and despite the obvious tension which exists between Sherlock and pretty much every human being he meets, the duo are essential to the show’s success.
 

Louise Brealey as Molly,
best known - to me anyway - for playing
Roxy in Casualty 

If a favourite character had to be picked, it would have be Molly who works in a morgue as a laboratory technician. She’s quite a shy character, very apologetic for making the slightest of errors and usually belittled by Sherlock’s shrewd/obtuse behaviour. The best thing about Molly is her longsuffering crush for Sherlock. Her recent attempt to impress him at the Christmas party was met with the usual hostility which Sherlock exudes. It was indeed, an epic fail. Anyway, somehow without actually apologising Sherlock manages to maintain a small circle of friends, including Molly.

The best feature of the show is the actual Dr Watson blog; adding an authenticity to the show which brings the characters alive. Molly also has a blog too!

http://www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/

http://www.mollyhooper.co.uk/

Season three is coming… just gotta wait.

Mohombi - In Your Head ft. Ice Prince & Sway (TJM Afrobeats Mix)

Love this.

Book Review: ‘The Invisible Man’ By H.G. Wells

The Guardian describes Wells as "The godfather of science fiction'

It’s rare – in fact it’s extremely rare, that I get scared from reading a book. Films are scary, but never books. However, The Invisible Man is the first book I’ve ever read which scared the living daylights out of me. Possibly, it’s the fear of the unseen or unknown which made me feel so terrified? In any case, this book is truly amazing.

The sheer excellence of Wells’ writing is what makes the story come alive. Within the first few pages, it’s almost impossible not to get sucked into the story of a mysterious invisible man trying to pass off as normal in a remote English village. Initially Wells refers to The Invisible Man as the ‘Visitor’, and then later, simply as the ‘Voice’. The fact that his name is not discovered until the 18th chapter, only adds to the ambiguity and secretiveness of The Invisible Man’s character.

The story is simple; an albino scientist makes himself invisible and uses his new found ‘advantage’ to cause havoc in a quiet little village. Obviously, there’s a little more to it than that, but generally that’s the best way of describing the plot. In the course of the story he manages to force a tramp (Mr Marvel) – arguably the best character in the book, to help him recover his precious lost belongings from an inn he was staying in. The utter cruelty and callousness of the Invisible Man is certainly a facet of his personality that seems to have dominated his life and ultimately led to his desire to make himself invisible.

On the whole, the story is good but really scary (I’ve said that enough already!). The ending, however, is slightly anticlimactic, but still enough to round off this brilliant story. The best feature is the small chapters which break the story down and make what would be a dense piece of literature, quite digestible.