Before going to Stylist Live last Thursday, my sister and I had time to kill, and ended up in the Angel branch of the bubble tea shop Bubbleology.
I've had bubble tea before so the drink itself wasn't a strange thing to me, though making a decision about which flavour I want is always what takes me so long.
Eventually I went for lychee flavour, which I hadn't tried before!
I probably won't try it again either, because it wasn't the best bubble tea flavour I've had. However, the drinks here have a lot more tapioca pearls in them than other places I've been to, and the service was fast and friendly.
Not sure if I'll go to Bubbleology again, though this is mainly because I don't live anywhere near their shops. Still, their decor is cool, and they have a good number of options on the menu, so who knows...
Visiting Bubbleology counts towards another of my goals on The List:
One of the themes for this week's challenge on Delightful Aberrations was censorship. I had ideas straight away, but some required Many People (I know many people, but many people that do not have time at the same time...)
So these ended up being my final images this week.
Censor Them All
I wanted to show censorship both as an act and as a person. People are the cause of censorship, and maybe Censorship itself is censored, in that we are not always fully aware when something has been censored--think of all those scenes left on the editing room floor, those paragraphs deleted, that we never know exist unless they're directly addressed.
Anyway, that's it photography-wise for this week. My brain is fuzzy with a cold, so hopefully this makes sense!
Crafting and shopping: two of my favourite things.
So when I heard about Stylist Live, a four-day event in London filled with workshops, talks, catwalk shows, shopping, food and a free Chambord cocktail, I knew I had to go!
I dragged along my youngest sister, who isn't much of a craft-oriented person, but is totally into fashion and beauty and well up for a day out trying something new.
We opted to go on the Thursday, and since the ticket price included a workshop, we went to learn how to make macramé hanging planters!
After spending the last few weeks focusing on music from far-flung and exotic places such as Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan and South Africa, this week I'm looking just a hop over the North Sea away, with some new-to-me artists from Norway!
Röyksopp
This electronic duo formed in 1998, and their name is apparently a stylised version of the Norwegian word for puffball mushroom: røyksopp, though the artists say it could also refer to the mushroom cloud of an atomic blast. (Cheerful!)
The band use a number of different vocalists on their recordings, both male and female, so without being familiar with any of them it was quite a surprise to hear what the vocals on each song were like!
Whilst some of the tracks I heard were more what I think of when I think 'electronic', others were much different to what I expected!
The videos I watched were pretty varied; some told stories whilst others seemed more artsy. I liked watching/listening to this act, and since the songs I heard are performed in English I could understand the content easily!
This is a good act with some great songs; I'm not generally a fan of the electronic genre but enjoyed this band's sound. Röyksopp Official Website
Gåte
A folk-rock band with a metal twist to their sound, Gåte (Norwegian for 'riddle') was formed in 2000and active until 2005, then reformed for one more year between 2009-2010.
I really like the combination of rock/folk/metal sounds in music, and whilst a lot of similar female-fronted acts might opt for a more pseudo-operatic vocal, Gåte go more towards the folksy sound. (I'd go as far as to say there's a Celtic twang to be heard in this act's vocals!)
Their music videos feature lots of dark lighting and some fantasy elements, along with the band performing.
Gåte's songs are all in Norwegian, but the internet is a wonderful thing, so they are plenty of lyric translations to be found (here's one for the song above!) so the language isn't a problem.
I found their music engaging and energetic, and will probably go back at some point to listen to more!
No official website this time. Boo.
That's it for this week! My list of new-to-me acts is still huge, so who knows which country's music I'll be looking at next week...
At the beginning of the year, I completed a goal from The List: 064: Eat 50 different chocolates
It took a while, since I started it in May 2014 and finished in January of this year!
Since it all feels far away now, here are my Top Five Chocolate Bars of the fifty I tried.
5. Montezuma's Open Sesame
Slightly crunchy, with an easter egg chocolate kind of taste!
4. Rococo Chocolates Chilli Pepper 'Bee Bar'
Great quality chocolate and a subtle chilli taste that builds with each bite!
3. Kernow Chocolates Caramel Sea Salt
Soft, caramel flavoured chocolate with a saltiness that balances out the sweetness!
2. Waitrose Seriously Nutty Pistachio, Hazelnut & Almond Milk Chocolate
Satisfying chocolate with tiny bits of nut for that extra crunch!
1. Vanini Dark Chocolate with Rosemary
A chocolate bar with a really surprising flavour; not only was it delicious but it evoked a feeling of a warm kitchen on a cold day, and home-cooked food fresh from the oven.
It's rare for a chocolate bar to cause a feeling like that, therefore it's my number one bar!
Vegan pick: Moo Free Mini Moos: Lily-Lu's Minty Moo
Tasty vegan chocolate with mint!
Sugar Free pick: Klingele Chocolate: Balance Milk Praline
Smooth and flavoursome chocolate. Hard to believe it was sugar free!
Honorable Mention: (because 'top 5' wasn't enough) Pana Chocolate Fig & Wild Orange
Soft and flavoursome raw 70% cocoa organic chocolate with no added sugar and amazing flavour.
That's it! I'm done with chocolate!
Of course, I'll still eat chocolate, but this is probably the last you'll read of it on here. I'll be going back to naughty, more run of the mill treats like Double Deckers, Wispas, and Lidl's version of Twix ;)
Check my chocolate tag for all chocolate tried for this goal!
Sticking with the 'pick a country, any country' formula for this week's new-to-me artists.
This time around, I've been listening to two acts from Armenia!
Inga & Anush Arshakyan
Also known as the Arshakyan Sisters, this folk duo have been active since 2000.
Compared to other folk acts I've heard, this one makes music that is, on the whole, a lot more upbeat! (The exception to this, as far as I saw, was one that looks like it's about the Armenian genocide, which obviously isn't something to be happy about).
Overall, their music videos are energetic, colourful and fun, filmed in interesting locations and filled with dancing and traditional themes.
I liked listening to this act, and loved the harmonies in their music. Worth giving them a listen! Inga & Anush Arshakyan on Facebook
The Bambir
So, finding information on this act turned out to be a headache, because Wikipedia tells me The Bambir is an act formed in 1994, separate but connected to an act started in 1978 named simply Bambir...whilst their website claims it's all the same act, only The Bambir is made up of the sons of the original members of Bambir.
And if that isn't befuddling to the common observer, I don't know what is.
Band history aside, this four-piece progressive-ethnic-rock act have a really traditional edge to their music, which I liked hearing. It certainly makes them stand out!
Their videos depict the members playing together, usually in a circle, in various settings, which gives the recordings a more natural, intimate feel.
I liked many aspects of this band's music, though it isn't the kind of music I'd often listen to.
Still, if you're reading this, try them out--you might find you like it! The Bambir Official Website
That's it for this week! These two acts bring my total of new-to-me acts listened to for this challenge to eighty!
Usually, I try to take photos for the theme challenge on Delightful Aberrations.
But after skipping last week (no time) and having no ideas for photography this week, I decided to break with tradition and draw something this time around!
I used the prompts record and site, and practised drawing a hand in the process (because I still can't draw hands...)
Though I drew this in a different notebook, I may cut it out and stick it into the sketchbook I bought for Goal 01:
001. Fill a sketchbook with artwork/studies of only one
subject
Though I haven't written about this goal much, it's one I started a while ago!
It's actually been an ashamedly long time since I attempted to draw any, but here are a few I've drawn using photos from Google image search as a reference:
I found that I like drawing with biro. If I make a mistake (which I have done in Every Single Picture) I can fix/hide it, rather than rub out part of my work and spend hours redrawing the same line over and over until I get it 'right'.
Of course, drawing from a reference picture is much easier than drawing in other styles. Am absolutely not sharing my halfassed hand-doodles today!
...this post was meant to be for the theme challenge, but ended up being more about goal 01. Oh well!
If you squint, you'll see a tiny pink dot on the top corner of this building.
That's me.
About to ride that zipwire to raise funds for Blind Veterans UK, a charity that supports those who have served in the Armed Forces and are living with sight loss.
Now. You might remember that 'Ride a zipline' is one of the goals on The List...
However, it was an incrediblychallenging goal, because I am not a huge fan of heights, and the thought of leaping off a building attached to some ropes seems utterly insane even now.
But when I saw an advert for the event, I thought it was a great opportunity, as it was for a very good cause. So not only was I able to do something I wanted to try, but I was able to raise funds for a charity at the same time!
Thanks to the wonderful people that sponsored me, I was able to raise £205 for this fantastic charity!
This is my happy-but-questioning-my-sanity face.
Happy that so many people donated
Questioning my sanity over doing this!
Zipwiring is a memorable experience.
Only once were we on the roof did I realise how high it was, and honestly, the most terrifying part of the whole thing is sitting down on the edge, hooked up to the ropes, and knowing a guy was seconds away from pushing me off the edge.
After the push, there was the rapid descent down the wire to the ground, which was pretty awesome--it made being pushed off the roof totally worth it! ;)
Though I was nervous, I wasn't going to let it beat me, not when so many people had donated to such a good cause!
Not to mention, the lady who went down the line before me was in her eighties--if she could do it, so could I!
Overall it was a great experience. I was one of some 180 people who participated, and Blind Veterans UK hopes to raise over £10,000 through the running of the event. Am keeping an eye on their Facebook page to find out if they update with a total raised!
I screwed up this week. Kind of.
After deciding to listen to acts from countries I'd yet to look at, I ended up prodding at YouTube's recommendations, and listening to Yet Another Japanese Band before I'd done any of my listening for the challenge this week.
Which wouldn't be an issue, if they were a band I'd heard before.
But they count towards this goal, so...I'll tack them on at the end, as a bonus band!
This week, my main focus is acts from Jamaica!
Black Uhuru
Formed in 1972, the 'uhuru' from this reggae band's name means 'freedom' in Swahili.
Black Uhuru were apparently most successful in the 80s, and have been through several lineup changes over the years.
Their music has a real timeless quality that makes it difficult to put a date to! Though I suspect someone knowledgeable in this genre would be able to date a song right down to the year...
Though I like the timbre of the vocals, this isn't an act I'd listen to again, solely because the genre isn't my thing. But if you do like reggae (or want to give it a try), definitely give this group a listen!
Black Uhuru are still active, which is awesome for anyone that likes them--particularly as they still go on tour! Black Uhuru on Facebook
The Skatalites
This band were originally active for a few years in the 1960s, but reformed in the early 80s and have been going ever since.
The Skatalites are another group that have been through a lot of lineup changes, and their music is categorised as multiple genres on Wikipedia, but I'm going to note it here as 'ska/reggae'.
Some of their music is instrumental, whilst other tracks have lyrics. I'll embed an instrumental here, but also check out If You Want To Be Happy For The Rest Of Your Life for some lyrical goodness (and a track completely unlike the one embedded here--this group has some variation!)
I like the songs with vocals on better than the ones that don't, and might listen again if I was in the mood for this kind of music. It has an upbeat feel to it, and is worth checking out! The Skatalites Official Website
Bonus
CLØWD
YouTube suggested this act to me, and honestly the reason I clicked on it was because I wanted to know what kind of band would release an album named Tenderloin.
Formed at the beginning of last year, this band is a baby compared to the other two acts I've written about here!
The video above is for the most part the complete opposite to what I expect from a Japanese rock band. Rap verses alongside the more typical-sounding bridge and chorus, a narrative unlike 99.9% of other Jrock music videos I've watched (and I've watched a lot)--this one music video really caught my attention!
The other videos I watched were much more along the lines of what I expect from bands of this genre, both visually and musically. Guess I lucked out on finding one of their more unusual songs first!
I'll probably go back to hear more of this band, when I'm in the mood to listen to something outside of the artists usually on my playlist*!
If you like Jrock, go ahead and check out this band. CLØWD Official Website
*Before anyone accuses me of being a Jrock weeb, my playlist currently comprises of Moulettes (UK), Steam Powered Giraffe (USA), Beastie Boys (USA), Shilfee and Tulipcorobockles (JP), Vitas (RU) and Rammstein (DE). And soon to add Freshlyground (SA) because their album Nomvula turned up in the post today :3 )
Anyway, that's it for this week! Next week I'll try not to get distracted with YouTube's suggested videos before I get this challenge done!
There's a goal on my list that I started (and due to the wording, technically completed) but never wrote about until now:
014. Start a collection of found objects
To me, a 'found object' isn't just any old piece of rubbish you might pick up. It's something that sparks an interest, evokes a memory, inspires creativity, or has a use.
Though some might look at the pictures here and think 'but that is rubbish, fair enough. It's all about perception! To me, the broken shards of glass and pottery prod at my imagination, causing me to ask questions--What was this? What did it contain? Who used it?
Then I find myself making up the answers: Here's a fragment of an old medicine bottle, used by a farmer to stave off a winter cold when he was tending his sheep. He left it behind one day and forgot where it was, and over time the bottle got smashed and the fragments scattered in the mud.
Of course, the truth is more likely to be that it was a bottle tossed away carelessly some fifty years ago and it ended up in the mud of the footpath when earth was moved to create said footpath.
But it's fun to imagine something different.
Alongside pottery shards and interesting pieces of metal, I've accumulated some paper-based finds, too!
A couple of these items - the old bus ticket (found in a second hand book) and the Egypt-themed playing card (found at a bus stop) - are items that have been knocking about for ages. The others are things I've found in the park or in the street, and have picked them up with a thought that they might be interesting for an assemblage (which is goal #15!)
I've picked up natural forms, too--a huge pine cone from a tree that has since been felled, a smaller cone from a different kind of tree; feathers and leaves with nice colours, and a little piece of sheep wool found on a pleasant walk in the countryside.
Most of my found objects live in an old shoe box under the bed (until I use some of them for that assemblage!)
But there are some that will live in their own box, until I find a way to display them--and at this point I'll add a warning: if you don't like the sight of animal bones, look away now.
No really.
Look away.
Still here?
Here's my most interesting find so far:
I found these bird bones amongst some 40+ years of dust and muck in a boarded-up fireplace.
The chimney itself isn't blocked off, so obviously the poor creatures fell down a long time ago =/
Unfortunately I broke a number of the bones when cleaning the dust and fluff from them, and others started to disintergrate after I let them soak in biological washing water (following the advice on Jake's Bones!)
So what I have left is these:
There is still dust inside the skulls that seems to be welded in there, despite having left them to soak so long!
I'll probably put these in a little glass box, if I can find one. At the moment they live in a not so glamorous ice cream tub!
As my goal was to simply start a collection of found objects, I'm marking this one as complete.
If/when I happen upon some more cool finds, I'll write about them here!
