When will America accept it still has a discrimination problem?

Everyone reading this should've now seen the video released of Sandra Bland's aggressive encounter with a police officer stopping her for a 'routine traffic stop'.

If you haven't - go do it now before you read on.

Noticeably, if you read any news about this - there will be little or no reference to this being to do with race or prejudice.

And yet, any fucking idiot can see it is exactly this.

In the video, it's pretty clear that the officer is revelling in his own authority and pushing for the harshest of sentences. And Sandra Bland was right when she said in the voicemail to her friend - "How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this?"

 Because you were black, Sandra. And because that officer was a racist.

And so, another American has died needlessly because of the simple fact that the American police force are still simply embedded with layers of racism - and funnily enough still won't learn. It's cruel and painful every time a story like this hits the news, which is actually becoming a monthly occurrence and that's not including the ones that don't hit the headlines - which happen every day under our noses. But - the headlines are so far from the truth it hits with an even bigger punch.

This is racism. Not just a shooting, police violence or suicide. It's racism and so much more.

The same was present with the Charleston shooting earlier this year. This wasn't just a crazed man wandering into a church full of people and firing his weapon like a child with silly string. That was a racist man targeting black people and marking his targets. Was it reported in the latter way though? Of course it wasn't. Because America still can't admit on the global stage that it has not dealt with racism.

Take a look at Donald Trump, America's tall and proud would-be brother to Nigel Farage. He's standing for presidency in the 2016 elections and was fondly quoted last week saying "They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards, and they're telling us what we're getting." in regards to Mexicans crossing the border.

I'll admit, he's probably worse than Farage.

The worst part is that from the polls and ratings, he's actually a top candidate. Another example of an opinionated multi-millionaire business mogul bringing a non-sensical form of politics to a country in dire need of addressing it's problems with racism. Not a twat with a chip on his shoulder.

Sandra Bland's death has unusual written all over it. I won't go into the strange observations noted on social media about her mugshot - which although are interesting, it's difficult to interpret from a non-professional point of view.

No one will ever likely know what went on in that jail cell that led to her death. The fact is however that something didn't just add up. A massively aggressive police officer arrests forcefully a black lady for a wrong manoeuvre and then she, under questionable circumstances, dies in police custody in the following days? I'm no conspiracy theorist but I'm also not an idiot.

Not that a nation who host's a population of nearly 600 million people are likely to hear the voice of a teenager in a small town in the United Kingdom, but, America - you still have a problem with race and it needs fixing. Don't ignore it anymore.

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7 Arts of Being a Twat - Daily

So, I figured it was time to write about stuff that wasn't dull, depressing or political. Because, that stuff gets boring.

And, oddly, the one thing that sprang to mind when I was thinking of something to write about was how, as the humans that we are, we can really be absolute cocks sometimes. To such an extent that the social embarrassment is almost so blisteringly painful that being Piers Morgan's personal rent boy is actually a preferable option. Well, for some people anyway.

So I've compiled a list of the 7 main ways we regularly make a twat out of ourselves. The irony of this whole thing is that if I get any of these wrong - I am making a huge twat out of myself.

1. The Nervous Laugh

We've all done it. Definitely. I'll put it into context. A work colleague of yours passes you, mutters something you wouldn't understand if you spoke all fucking 6,500 languages. You lock up and think "oh fuck, I can't ask them what they said now, it's been 30 seconds that's far too long to ask that, fuck. fuck. fuck."

And there it goes. You do a nervous laugh hoping like Christ they cracked a joke. The next couple of minutes are spent engaging in turtle mode, nervously avoiding eye contact with that person just in case. Sometimes it ends with utter humility, and you force out a stifled, "sorry?"

2. The Shoe-Lace

The oh-so irritating undoing of the shoe-lace. It always happens of course, at the most convenient time. Oh no, your shoe lace does not become un-tied when you are in a quiet corridor with plenty of space to manoeuvre! Your shoe lace knows exactly when to become un-tied.

In the middle of the high street is a fine example. Where, to manoeuvre yourself in a position to tie your shoe-laces you may well be anally propositioning an 87 year old woman. Or by attempting to squat down you may hit a child in the face with your over-sized plastic carriers bags you are attempting to trawl through town.

The latter actually happened to me.... yeah, I know.

3. "Uh, I'm getting off the bus now?"

This is, for me, one of the scariest moments of the day. Not even for any reason. Your stop is coming up at increasing speed and you have a pensioner next you who may well be still attempting to stand up within the next 30 minutes. But, the waiting time isn't even half the problem when getting off the bus, oh no.

The main problem with the bus is letting the person sat next to you know that you would like to leave the bus. And soon. Do you make awkward eye contact? Is there an appropriate British sentence that is both polite and respectful, whilst letting them know you want to get the hell up? "I know, I'll gather all of my possessions together in my hands, that'll let them know I'm ready to go."

4. The Fake Text

So, you're walking down the street and for whatever reason, you've forgotten or not realised you're headed in the wrong direction. Even in quiet  streets it seems logical here that you are going to look like a twat for doing a full 180 and shuffling off into the opposite direction. So what do we do? Oh look, a text.

I'll just stand here quickly, maybe even pull a face of mild surprise, as I read this non-existent (or even sometimes a text you've already read) and then boom, I can spin round and walk off comfortably. Ha, those people watching me will never know now. I don't look strange, AT ALL.

5. The Street Dance

This one is actually a massive bug-bear of mine. It is perhaps the single most irritating moment of my day and if I'm in a town centre it will happen at the very minimum of once. You're immersed in your phone and as you briefly look up you see an impending crash. When you try to correct course, the person about to walk into you does exactly the same.

The next 5 seconds are spent doing some sort of lightning fast tap dance in different directions so poorly judged that sometimes you actually crash into one another mumbling "sorry" accompanied with a fake and slightly pissed off laugh.

6. The Wave

This one is a rarity, but it is definitely a killer. Men and Women have died of shame from this. As you walk down the road to, I don't know, the shops? Oh, that's Steve! I'll give him a big old wave and maybe even shout him!

After a few seconds of waving and at the very worst of times shouting the name of the person you think you've recognised - a wave of dread and bitter disappointment washes over you. That's not Steve. The worst part is that it's only after bewildering looks of complete confusion from the person you think you've seen are shot at you do you finally realise.

7. The Trip

We've all done it, don't deny it. Potentially in your own little world, maybe wearing shoes that are just too pointy or just too clumpy. There always has to be a stupid loose slab of pavement just waiting patiently, like a spider waiting for a fly to be caught on a web.

Aaaand there it goes. You've tripped up and managed to steady yourself from almost certain face-splattering. Someone's giggling from a nearby car window. You laugh a little to yourself, accepting that you have just made a tit of yourself, for the 7th time today. Fuck you, world.

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The 'Fat' and 'Skinny' Problem

This post will potentially be one of the most hypocritical things I have ever written, because, as anyone who knows me is fully aware - I am not politically correct. Unintentionally, by the way.

There's a big ol' problem skulking around social media and petition websites that is frankly just irritating the living hell out of me and I've decided to do the usual thing, yep, you guessed it - go onto to social media and join the skulking problem.

It's the fat and skinny debate. Where is the line in terms of 'political correctness?'

Recently there was a huge attack on this advertising campaign.



I agree with the anti-campaign. This sort of advertisement is wrong and potentially damaging and for the most part - irresponsible.

Here's what I don't agree with - the idolisation of the morbidly obese and massively under-weight under the guise of body confidence.

The problem I find with so many of the social media rants about this debate is that there is just no realistic element to it. To put it bluntly, some people are slightly bigger, some are slightly smaller, some are average. The people that are out of that spectrum, (being either very fat or very skinny) are just not healthy human beings. That is fact, not opinion, that is fact.

It worries me deeply that while we are reporting huge increases in obese children and how obesity is becoming such a widespread problem thanks to the holier-than-thou food industry, whilst simultaneously campaigning for body confidence (which is a good thing) and the idolisation of obese models (that's not a good thing). That's a conflicting dialogue that the Western community is having with itself, and it's more damaging than obesity itself.

I could be incredibly narrow-minded (it's possible, I know) but I can't understand why it is that an obese model or, equally, an incredibly skinny model could be considered a healthy human being. We can't promote healthy living and extreme weight conditions at the same damn time. That's like telling your teenage kids not to do drugs as you inject heroin into your veins. It can't work and it's doomed to fail and have deeper consequences.

What also isn't being properly tackled like it should be, is the food industry. The food industry is behaving now in the way that Tobacco companies did during the Tobacco boom. I can't walk down a road now without seeing the latest re-invention of food into processed fast food in various fonts and colours splashed across every billboard, poster and street corner. I personally don't give a flying fuck if KFC have managed to find a way of making the cheapest, most processed 'version' of a burrito I've ever seen. Capitalism is good, I love Capitalism; but the sort of aggressive capitalism that is funnelling it's way in through the food industry is destroying our western culture and causing us to bicker about whether being morbidly obese or very skinny is good or not? It isn't. It isn't healthy. It causes health problems - and big ones.

Whilst all of that is fact, here's another thing that's a huge problem. Shaming people because of their weight conditions. This is all being written by me, a slightly overweight guy, and I've witnessed and seen the effects that shaming because of weight has had. I am not proud to say either that I have both been the perpetrator and the victim on varied different times growing up, and the worst part is that because of the huge social pressure as a result of advertising campaigns such as the one previously mentioned - it is just unavoidable sometimes, especially in children.

Young girls and boys should NOT ever be made to feel they need to look like someone they aren't.

Adult women and men should NOT ever be made to feel they need to look like someone they aren't.

No one on this planet should be made to feel like they have achieved something by being the same weight as a half-naked man or woman on a billboard. But neither should an unhealthy lifestyle be promoted, surely? Men and women alike should have an environment surrounding them that engages them as individual people, with individual shapes and sizes and variations which is perfectly natural. I realise of course, please don't think I am avoiding the topic of health and mental conditions which lead to dramatic weight conditions, because that is a different debate. Some people can't help being very large, nor very small. Like I said, this is not to be shamed but supported.

Maybe I'm onto something here. MAYBE I'm a huge twat?

... We'll never know.

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Love Kingsman: The Secret Service With Me (And Everyone Else)

Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson and Taron Egerton.

Kingsman: The Secret Service barrel rolls in as one of the most audacious films I've simply ever seen. I don't usually review a film but I felt given it's performance I was pretty much obligated to.

It feels more than anything like a big mash up of everything you could enjoy in a film. It's got fantastic acting, hilarious writing and a plot that is completely generic for a spy film (a quirky bad guy with intent of dominating the world through money or technology) whilst managing to actually be an entirely individual film in itself, which is a rarity. 

The first few scenes give you an edging sense of dread, not because they are necessarily of poor quality but more-so because they are somewhat ridiculous. To be blunt, someone gets chopped in half. If that ever becomes a recognisable sign of a good movie - let me know.

And yet, after chopping someone in half, you just can't help but to be absolutely enthralled by the plot, despite it being ridiculously far-fetched and what is quintessentially a comedy, it still manages to grab you by the throat and make you watch (I think it's Colin Firth).

Colin Firth plays Harry, a veteran 'Kingsman' (a dapper British spy) who's life was saved by a fellow spy in a previous mission, Harry seeks to keep his friend's legacy on by selecting said friend's son as his new protege for Kingsman training - Eggsy, played by newcomer Taron Egerton, whom is remarkably likeable for his debut role. The Kingsman do of course face their big bad bond-like enemy.

This is Samuel. L Jackson as you've never seen him before and I still can't work out whether it's good or bad, but I'm going with it. He's got a lisp. He's pretty camp. He "can't stand the sight of blood" and he's also the big bad guy behind it all. He plays the billionaire entrepreneur Richmond Valentine who seeks to kill off a decent slice of the world population by offering free sim-card like chips into everyone that allows him to control their behaviour. Of course, what's preventing him from his evil plot? The Kingsman of course! From sharing a McDonalds meal to slaughter in a church. The film is simply brilliantly outrageous.

Martin Vaughn has stripped a lot from the comics of the same name but re-worked it into a bond homage more than anything. But the comic book essence is still present - bulletproof umbrellas, shotgun pistols and hologram glasses.

There are a lot of gags - some of them fall short, mainly a few references to 'My Fair Lady' and a few that are just aimed at the 'common londoner', but ultimately the film manages to be riotous and pull all the right heartstrings without diving too much into the realms of clichè.

Grab a martini. Get suited up. Get to the cinema.

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Why You Shouldn't Like Government Employed PSHE Schemes

For those who are unaware, PSHE stands for Personal Social Health & Economic Education, it's a part of the UK's national curriculum and has been since 2000. It's also become the biggest load of cockwash since the Iraq War.

I'm a student, currently on the arse-end of my final year at sixth form and I won't lie, this is probably pretty biased. I despise everything from registration to the 20 or so different bells that blast away every day; nonetheless, PSHE needs to go, and fast. The other week, the sixth form were subjected to what I can only really describe as unabashed sexism and, well, pretty fucking terrible acting.

Sat in our seats; bracing ourselves for the next dull PSHE assembly, we were told by the assembly leader that the topic of this PSHE was Domestic Violence. Of course, this is fine, children and young adults should obviously be taught how to cope and deal with this sort of issue. Good job so far guys. The catch is however, in my far too many years at education, I've had this same PSHE assembly - 4 times. Naturally with different people running it and generally a slightly different tone each time, but, you guessed it, still some fucking terrifically bad acting.

Yet. this isn't really the problem, it's generally the same layout:

1. Quick talk and explanation about Domestic Violence

2. Any Questions? (Oh, we're sixth formers, we couldn't be bothered to lift up our arms even if we had a question.)

3. Okay here's a big long video

4. Summary of the video

5. Any Questions? (Obviously, still no one can be fucked.)

6. Okay that's it guys. Clap at us like seals.

That's all fairly straightforward. Not really any problems there - except for the video.

Every time I have had this topic of assembly, it has always been a painfully dominant male beating the living shit out of his, usually younger, girlfriend. Now, don't think me a fool, this scenario happens more than enough times across the country than I can count on my hands - but it is not the only damn scenario. Wives beat husbands. Teenagers beat their parents. Husbands beat wives. Instead of portraying properly the reality of what happens in Domestic Abuse scenario's, PSHE in the curriculum is unarguably adding more fuel to the sexism bonfire. Children growing up in Secondary School's will see the same video's, constant boyfriends and husbands domineering and beating their female partners. What image does that really present to young people? Who, let's face it, can be pretty naive.

PSHE is a mess. A mess that isn't working to actually educate the younger generation socially well enough in the slightest.

I wouldn't have been so angry and gone toward writing this if the person leading the assembly hadn't said the one thing that catalysed my anger - "if you know someone who's a victim of Domestic Violence, be there for her".

HER.

Being an assembly full of sixth formers, this generally doesn't matter so much and was significantly less damaging, as most were either wanting to go to sleep and/or daydreaming intricate ways of escaping the hall undetected. (I don't know, that could've just been me). But seriously - you, lovely lady though you are, are a complete and utter idiot. She actually solidified my hatred for her when she followed that with the brilliantly twattish "oh I shouldn't say she, that's probably not correct, but most of the time that is the case".

To be fair, figures show that Male instigated domestic violence rates are much higher, but to twist that into an educational portal just begins to warp the minds of young people into fear, paranoia and distrust - which, let's be honest, this country doesn't need anymore of. (Yeah, thanks UKIP.)

I must also be clear that I don't expect every one of these PSHE schemes to include every scenario of such topics into their videos and whatnot, but what I do expect is that there is more acknowledgement and explanation that these sorts of things, like domestic violence, affect more than just women. It is a crime that destroys people and it is not to be skimmed over as just being men. It's just insulting in every way.

In summary.

- Support ANYONE you know that is a victim of Domestic Violence
- Don't generalise a common, malevolent crime to a gender.
- Fuck you PSHE.

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Hello, I'm fickle.

It has been several months since my last post, for which I do apologise. (that is to say if you actually read the things I write and enjoy them)

Today, I came to something of a realisation that I was not expecting, especially given my previous writings and opinions on the subject, nonetheless, today I realised I am a Feminist.

In contrary to what I have written before, I have finally come to an opinion on Feminism and comfortable in the concept that I am a Feminist. It truly hit me when I watched a video that was a sort of 'social experiment' on domestic abuse, that is when I had a figurative 'epiphany'; Feminism is equality. It is not a warped and twisted anti-male movement in which women seek to overthrow a patriarchal society (yeah, some people honestly believe that). I had previously noted Feminism in the modern day as 'twisted' into a much more anti-male orientated movement in which net mums abuse misconstrued men on social media platforms, but after watching this video my perspective has been truly altered:

In that video, there is some truly heartwarming and sickening reactions - a man actually joined the woman in abusing the experimenter, of course, whether or not this video had it's own agenda is entirely questionable but it's message is clear and at least how I perceive it, pure. Feminism is doing wonders for the world as I type these very words, support goes out to the Eastern World where even in the modern age women still suffer horrifically from patriarchal societies that ultimately abuse and borderline torture women, but Feminism does not just stand for women, as most men view it. Feminism stands for ALL. It is a movement that aims to bring every class, sex and ethnicity together, at least that is what Feminism now means to me.

A few weeks back I was at the cinema watching a new release, 'The Riot Club', this perhaps was one of the most rage-inducing films I have ever had both the pleasure and displeasure of watching. I walked out of the cinema having experienced complete shock and awe, I was both entirely blow away by the high quality of the writing and directing and completely disgusted by it's message (a film I urge everyone to go and see).

But a scene that really niggled away inside my brain *spoilers* is a scene in which the group of would-be posh boys sit around their dining table for the night, drunk and completely coked up. Miles(the generally central character) has been foiled into a cruel prank in which his girlfriend is accidentally invited to this dining room of 'debauchery' - a term the film loves to spit out regularly. In this scene, the 10 of the boys all make crude, vile and toxic comments that make you clench your firsts in the -fairly uncomfortable- cinema seats. The girl, Lauren, is sexually assaulted against a door, abused and offered £27,000 in exchange for 'just a few blowjobs', it is possible one of the most vomit-worthy scenes to watch in a film to be released in the past decade.

And yet, it is also one of the most thought provoking, because although a work of fiction, we have seen in the past 10 years that this is real, not the movie, but the concept is real. People do this shit. Perhaps I'm having a late reality check that everyone else realised years ago, but the world we live in is pretty fucked, and we all have a responsibility to 'unfuck' it. The way I have chosen to channel it through? Feminism. Feminism is my portal in which I will try my absolute hardest to bring about some change through whatever means I have at my disposal, along with the millions of other Feminists at my side, for that I have pride. Everyone can make a difference with but a little hope.

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Why Iggy Azalea and her kin are a detriment to Modern Society and Feminism

For a global society that often claims to be fast approaching equality, there still seem to be idols in the mass media that do nothing but absolutely diminish any sense of self-respect for themselves, I'm talking of course, as the title refers to, about Iggy Azalea, the provocative Australian 'rapper'.

I'll hold my hands up in shame here and say that my anger for this was first arisen when I saw an article comparing dear ol' Iggy and The Beatles. Yes, you did actually read that right.

Now, in previous posts I have disputed the fact that in many cases, sex does sell, often far too well for it's own good. But surely, SURELY after watching a 3 hour long concert of Iggy Azalea doing nothing but squatting and rubbing herself against oiled up gentlemen(performing none of her actual music it seems), there is a line in which we say "Yeah, okay. This isn't music, or a concert. It's porn."

It is people like Iggy Azalea that make me think long and hard about swingin' toward Feminism, because frankly, she and the image she presents is disgusting. For the record, her debut record was aptly named "Pu$$y".

It's a sad moment for me when her latest work, "Fancy", is quickly becoming the fastest selling pop song in history, it either proves the Feminism has done absolutely nothing for the world in the past 50 years, the whole world has gone tits up, or simply, I'm alone in thinking this.

If you haven't heard it, it's the sort of music, that lyrically appeals to your standard 14 year old girl wanting to go 'crazy', it's probably going to become the next anthem for young girls getting shitfaced around town. "Keep on turnin' up, we don't give a fuck"

But speaking from a country of rapidly growing insecure teenage girls, mass binge drinking problems, racist politicians and unabashed everyday sexism: is this not the most self-destructive sort of culture to embrace with open arms?

Why, for example, is Regina Spektor, not a mainstream idol she so deserves to be? Or as some people might know her: "The woman who sung the pretty songs on 500 Days of Summer".

Regina Spektor in Concert

We have a spoilt little girl 'rapper' flouncing her bum about like a piece of butcher's meat for sale, and a humble pianist girl who started from very little and arose to an incredibly respectable woman, and musician. Why is the former more popular? Why are we still talking about Nigel Farage and his 'politics' whilst millions of literal CHILDREN are being exposed to what is fundamentally, porn?




The same applies to the likes of Nicki Minaj or Miley Cyrus, it is simply a chain of exploitation with a huddled group of fatcats at the top of the chain laughing at the people they have assimilated into their bank accounts. You have young women, like for example Iggy Azalea, who are exploited by their management to sell their product and music via their image, then all of the envious people below worship them like deities, it is nothing other than poisonous to the progress made in equality in the past few decades.

Iggy Azalea in Concert

The truly most sickening thing about it all, is that these brainwashed women actually seem to think that they have 'creative direction' in their work. It would seem the definition of 'creative direction' has definetly seen a drastic change over the years, must've been something I missed, perhaps Robin Thicke can give me a definition. If anyone has any idea how the embedded picture of Azalea in concert portrays even an inkling of creative direction, please, inform me. Perhaps the the hand gesture is some sort of, uh, metaphor?

More than anything, I can do nothing other than plead. Plead anyone reading this to reject this awful, toxic culture that is simply poisoning society further, furthering sexism and stereotype. It would most likely be wasted breath to also plead  these young women to step down from their pedestal of flesh, they won't read this and if they do they won't care.

"A hoe is a hoe... is a HOE. & yes, ass out in a mag/internet/public view PERIOD. Puts you in a bucket with all the other hoes. No exceptions" - Azalea

Who knows? Maybe I'm just too arrogant to embrace a hip-hop style of music that flaunts female flesh like gold dust and swaggers men about uncompromisingly describing their nasty shags with 'hoes' and 'bitches'. Yet, if that culture is taking Britain by storm, I am proud to stand aside and say that frankly, I'd rather listen to fucking Nickelback and watch Come Dine With Me.




On that bombshell, go and listen to some Regina Spektor.

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Stephen Sutton, A Hero.

I have been following Stephen's updates for around the past three months, donating as and when I could, and there was not a more inspirational and astonishingly selfless person I have ever had the joy of reading about. Normally, these sorts of media-storm stories have me ambivalent at best, let alone sum up any sense of emotion, but yet, when I saw his viral 'last thumbs up' picture, my respect for him soared above and beyond. I can never say I have or likely will meet someone who had the absolute courage to say goodbye in such a brave, brave manner.

I figured that it was appropriate to pay my respects to him, as a person, as a charity king, and most of all, an absolute credit to society. I would like to think that had I been in the same position I would happily have taken on the same role as Stephen, but I know that I wouldn't have held a candle to his bravery.

My sincere condolences go out to Stephen's family, friends and supporters. His story will likely never be forgotten and I pray that it doesn't, nothing short of a legend.

Rest in Peace, Stephen Sutton.



"It's a final thumbs up from me! I've done well to blag things as well as I have up till now, but unfortunately I think this is just one hurdle too far.


It's a shame the end has come so suddenly- there's so many people I haven't got round to properly thank or say goodbye too. Apologies for that.

There was also so many exciting projects and things I didn't get to see out. Hopefully some will continue and if you want to carry on the fundraising please do (justgiving.com/stephen-sutton-TCT
is the link to donate to).

All future updates on this page will probably be from a family member. I hopefully may have the energy to write a few tweets (@_StephensStory). I will continue fighting for as long as I can, and whatever happens next I want you all to know I am currently in a good place mentally and at ease with the situation.

That's it from me. But life has been good. Very good.

Thank you to my mum and the rest of my family for everything. Thank you to my friends for being amazing. Thank you to my medical team for the hard work and effort they've continually they've put towards me. And thank you everyone else for sharing this wonderful journey with me.

I love you all x"

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"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." - Victor Hugo

I've been listening to a lot of music lately, exploring new genres and new sounds. Mind you, not that I am particularly talented or knowledgeable in music at all, I'm just a humble listener. After at least 100 hours of non-stop music on my Marley headphones(which I recommend highly, you can get them from here), I figured "Hey, let's give a weekly 5 top songs for my blog" and thusly, here I am! I'll jump right in straight away and deliver blow by blow complete with YouTube links.

1. Everything Everything - Suffragette Suffragette

I discovered Everything Everything alongside their release of 'Arc' in 2013, fitting into the pop-indie-rock scene. Their music is undoubtedly clever (aside from their apparent lack of ideas for the band and song's names maybe). Since their debut album, Man Alive, they've since truly soared to become some chart toppers, maybe not megastars but their definitely being rewarded with some fame that's well deserved. With a retro-modern fusion of music, Everything Everything tell stories in their music, and good ones at that.

2. The Vaccines - Bad Mood

This, by far, isn't one of The Vaccines best work. The song has a fairly monotonous vocal feel to it, but the guitar riffs and ferocity are enough to make you want to rip your clothes off and fling yourself into a crowd of 80's kids and go wild.

3. twenty one pilots - Truce

Twenty One Pilots, stylised as twenty|one|pilots are newcomers to the industry, with an absolutely astounding album released in 2013, Vessel was an immediate hit album, as it should be. The album has flavours of nearly a dozen genres and delicately crafts alternative music to have a whole new meaning. If you can, I suggest you listen to their entire album.

4. Panic! at the Disco - Casual Affair

If Panic! at the Disco are known for anything, it's for being completely wacky and different for every single album they release. Jumping from emo-punk rock in A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, to Folk in Pretty. Odd. and then a fusion of pop and rock for Vices & Virtues, they already have a pretty eclectic mix under their belt. Only for them to jump into an eccentric new electronic experiment in Casual Affair. It's quirky. It's surreal. It's good.

5. Phoenix - Entertainment

Phoenix are notorious heroes of indie music... if that's possible. Their music always seems to incorporate an electronic melody with some soft vocals and catchy lyrics. Phoenix have some undeniable classics, another being 1901. These guys will get you motivated and put you on a high.


As I'm notably doing 5 songs I recommend a week, I thought I'd incorporate 1 song you definitely shouldn't listen to.

5 Seconds of Summer - She Looks So Perfect

I honestly struggle to word how low music sinks when bands like this surface to popularity. Simply, they're awful musicians. They're whiny. They're overproduced and they're over-hyped. This is what is spawned when Justin Bieber and the Arctic Monkeys are popular in conjunction with each other. If you're a teenage girl looking to get off over a bunch of boys wearing make-up and sporting stupid haircuts playing awful music, this might just be your thing. Otherwise? Run. Run for the fucking hills.

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Kayleigh Palmer, A Truly Tragic Loss

It was on Saturday morning that I heard of Kayleigh's death, after having been kept in the loop throughout the week from a string of her friends.

I don't quite know how to properly word what I'm about to write, I'm not usually good at being particularly emotive about things, but, I digress.

I never really knew Kayleigh, as popular as that sentence is or has become. She was in the year below me at Cleeve School and only a few weeks ago had I managed to put a face to a name.

At first, In a strange sense, I didn't know how to react or feel in response to her death, she had never spoken to me, we had just exchanged mutual smiles at a bus stop one morning or she had opened the door for me in school.

Yet, that's when it hit me. The first time I have truly been deeply, sickeningly affected by the death of someone who wasn't relatively close to me in my life.

Death is the last enemy: once we've got past that I think everything will be alright.
Alice Thomas Ellis

I will not have it said, by anyone, that Kayleigh Palmer was not anything other than absolutely lovely. Every time I ever saw her she walked with a smile on her face radiating nothing other than pure happiness, never have I seen her sad, nor upset, nor angry, nor have I ever seen her be rude or spiteful to another person. Which is a thousand times more than I can say for the rest of the teenage population.

My deepest sympathies go out to her friends, family and loved ones. She, in my mind, was one of the most pleasant and lovely people I have ever had the pleasure of being an acquaintance of.

I had intended also, on giving an unbiased and totally neutral perspective on the events of last week, alas, I shall let my writing and emotions free-flow. 

There is nothing more utterly stomach churning than the thought of her boyfriend committing such an absolute atrocity. 

I have always been content with the fact that Cheltenham is relatively sleepy little town which gets busy for one week of the year and has it's fair share of scumbags. But this? This has truly changed my perspective on what people are really capable of, I am unabashedly appalled that another human being was able to commit the act so knowingly.

It breaks my heart to know that Kayleigh, whom was only 16, has lost not only her entire life, but her child and all of the potential that came along with her. 

Once again, my deepest condolences go out to her family and friends, it is beyond a tragic loss not only for her family, but Cleeve School. I truly pray that she is in a better place than the dark world we live in.

The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.

Lois McMaster Bujold

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Superheroes, What happened?

For today's post, I'll try and hit up something a little less controversial than my previous few posts, I don't have a very good track record here.

Morality is a strange concept. Probably one of the strangest, most manipulated and twisted concepts to ever by thrown around in the world as we know it. (Yeah, good start Josh.)

We all have a secret love for cliche superhero movies, whether it's the characters we see, the beliefs and principles fed to us or the downright awesome action scenes. We love 'em! They carry something for everyone!

Yet, as I flicked on my Netflix the other day, craving a bit of action and emotion together, I decided finally after a lot of deliberation (It takes me a while to pick films... too long.) The Avengers. I thought to myself - "What in the bloody fuckery has happened to Superhero films?"

Am I seriously the only one that has noticed such a divining line between what Superhero films are aiming to achieve, and what they're achieving?

Let's take for example two of the biggest film series' in the industry right now, The Dark Knight Trilogy and The Avengers Series.

The Dark Knight series has always been, for me, one of the most captivating, emotional and action-packed film trilogies I have ever watched. Each film carried with it a new mood, a new theme, the same characters who've come and gone different ways. It is film at it's very A class.

With 3 absolutely horrifying villains, and quality actors behind them each time. The films boast absolutely insatiable praise from me... and I'm a tough one to please. (Believe it or not.)

The clear aspect of The Dark Knight trilogy, is that it's dark. It's twisted. It's taken the classic, stupid, wacky Batman from the past and created a heart-clenching new ground for the DC Universe. This, to me, is what a superhero film should have, some depth, some raw emotion and raw action, a certain grittiness to it.

It has humour too, not lame jokes that leave us cringing in our seats, (thankfully Christopher Nolan's script never uses the word 'Catwoman') but the right moments that give us light relief from the emotional battering in other scenes. Maybe I am praising the film far too much, for this sort of thing may not be for everyone, there are people in this world that sit back and watch a film just to cry, just to laugh or just for the visuals. But personally, I like all three, I like a script that envigorates my life with new purpose and teaches me things I could previously never comprehend.

The Avengers, has absolutely none of this. It has, rightly or wrongly, attempted to manipulate the plot and it's moments in order to cater for a much wider audience, being such a Blockbuster film, you can sort of understand it. Much like The Hobbit, Peter Jackson has chosen to favour a wider audience and downgrade the maturity of the Middle Earth series. I am not a fan of that.

At the beginning of the film, we're given, one by one, a buffet of superheroes. A literal smorgasbord of superheroes given to you on a plate. Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, you name it. The film opens with potential, yet seems to just crumble into cliche jokes and an utterly mindlessly generic plot about the bad guy taking over the world. Originality is key in film-making these guys, let's make it happen.

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Feminism and Misogyny. (But mainly Feminism.)

I have always found I have an incredibly abstract mind in comparison to the people I spend the most time with. Mind you, I do not say that boastfully.

I'll forever hear people upset, distraught or incredibly happy about current affairs news and I will almost always remain totally nonchalant about everything. It may just be a quirk of being an incredibly laid-back person. There are only three things I have ever seemed to have a solid opinion on: Herbal Tea, Justin Bieber and Feminism. 2 of those opinions are negative, I'll leave you to guess.

The other day, I came across a page on Twitter - '@NoMorePage3'

My immediate thought was "oh for crying out loud."

Feminism, in the nicest possible way, is bullshit. As is misogyny, it's all utter bullshit.

I am, in every sense, going to try and attempt to talk about this from the most neutral perspective I can (yeah, you've already done a fantastic job there, Josh).

The 'official' definition for Feminism is,

"Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women."

I should clarify at this point, I have absolutely no issue against feminists, misogynists or any of their personal reasons for being such. My issue, however, is how these, coined, 'gender defenders' are portraying and delivering their ideals. If a man were to joke about a woman, let's go with the all time classic - "get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich" joke that seems to circulate the Internet like a virus; it is immediately construed as a sexist joke and the male behind it is almost immediately a 'sexist pig'. Yes, the joke is most definitely not right and does give a sickening male authority vibe.

And yet, when a woman jokes about, let's say "men always leave the toilet seat up!" it is a perfectly socially acceptable comment to make. I for one am fairly good at keeping my toilet seat down, clean and ready for my co-inhabitants. What does that make me?

The concept of Feminism is innocent, and frankly has been a fantastic movement. However the general social stigma that has come along with it, is disgusting. I, as a man, do not want to be considered an authoritarian male hell-bent on dominating and infantalising women, I want to be equal.

I hope it goes without saying that I am trying not to generalize against all feminists, there are thousands of feminists that represent their beliefs soundly and do not adhere to typical social conventions.

"NoMorePage3" is not one of those.

Sexual marketing has been in place since marketing began, making use of sex appeal has and ALWAYS will be on of the primary selling points in a newspaper, magazine or product... Well, depending on what type of product. I wouldn't expect to see Miley Cyrus' arsecrack stuck to a box of tic-tacs.

If a newspaper is happy to publish boobs, so be it. If a consumer is willing to purchase said newspaper with boobs, so be it. If the boob-wielder (I really laughed at that) is happy to have her boobs printed, then so be it. The Sun is renowned for it's page 3. Simply, if you don't agree with it, don't buy it or read it?

The same goes for Male publications of the same sort; I can't even count the amount of times i've seen Channing Tatum's oiled up nipples stuck to a magazine, or David Beckham's tight boxers hugging his penis plastered onto an advertisement. It sells, so they continue to do it.

Hypocrisy is society's greatest downfall. If both genders are to respected EQUALLY then it is not a question of who is a feminist or who is a misogynist, it is simply a matter of respecting each other as human beings, not as a woman or a man. 

Yes, society may have some catching up to with women's rights, but it is vital that these movements do not get carried away with themselves. Al Qaeda are one of the world's biggest testaments to what happens when a pure and righteous belief turns sour and begins to become warped.

... Wow, I just compared Feminism to Al Qaeda.

It is high-time that people across the world begin to realise that petty squabbling about age-old jokes is an extremely primitive way of behaving as human beings. It is no longer a matter of treating a woman as woman, nor a man, a man. It is about treating everyone as a human being, no matter what religious orientation, gender, ethnicity they may be."Treat as you like to be treated", as they say.

If history has taught us anything, it's that dwelling on the past is not the way to progress.

Think new.

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Social Awkwardness and Self Harm.

*I URGE THE UTMOST CAUTION IN READING IF YOU SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION, SELF HARM OR DEPRESSION, SOME READERS MAY FIND THIS POST TRIGGERING*

I'm socially awkward. In fact, I am almost so socially awkward I make Michael Cera look like Michael Buble.

I am forever saying the wrong things with perfectly sound intentions, making awkward conversation with people I consider myself even friends with. How on earth I have done a pretty good job as a salesman on high street retail is beyond me.

Socially awkwardness is usually something to giggle at, something marginally cute. I mean come on, we all find Michael Cera adorable. 'Superbad' is probably the biggest testament in all of his career to how socially awkward he is capable of acting, heck, he may even be that socially awkward.

If you haven't seen Superbad. I suggest you watch it.

Being socially awkward doesn't sound bad. It just sounds like a quirky trait to have. But at what stage does being socially awkward change into being depressed and anxious, and what stage does depression and anxiety become associated with self-harm and suicidal thought tendancies?

Now, do not get me wrong, I am, in nearly every sense perfectly average, nor is this a pity-party for little old socially awkward me. Because I am neither a self-harmer nor have I ever in my life had a suicidal thought, yet I am still a socially awkward person in general. So what's defines it and what spawns the self harm?

It is fairly self-explanatory if you just consider why on earth has it become, to a degree, 'fashionable' to put on the act of being socially 'rejected'?

This runs down many routes and paths, from modern metal bands creating fan-bases that romanticize self harm and suicide. Which, is both good and bad, yes of course awareness is brought up and more people are at least trying to help it. But is it really right that it's possible to see little clusters of self-harming cults cropping up on Twitter, Tumblr and fuck, I've even seen some on Vine... a video sharing app.

Of course, is not to be misconstrued as a huge long rant at people who self-harm, nor am I attempting to generalize all self harmers to metal band fangirls/boys. I think the real message I am always trying to convey, is that everyone should always devote their lives to helping people in the RIGHT way. That does not mean, America, let's 'protect' our country and families by retailing guns as if they were candy. (I couldn't resist that little jibe at the American Government)

There are, because of these little self-harm cults, teenage girls AND boys, young people in this world that truly do not understand the gravity of their own self-harm. When you go to a job interview, when you go on a date, when you spend the rest of your life attempting to live an ordinary life, you will always be reminded of your ridiculous teenage decision to harm your own body.

For people that are not primarily exposed to social media to such a broad extent as I, imagine in a sense a chain reaction. A certain sequence of actions lead to a sharing of those actions, and eventual viral attention. 

*WARNING* - Do not read further if you suffer from self-harm, as the following picture is graphic.

A picture like this, is posted to Twitter.

(From Google Images)

Before you know it, it gets retweeted by thousands, shared for everyone else to see, something that was intended to raise awareness has thus become a trigger for thousands of self-harmers across the world, worsening the problem. It's like trying to contain chlamydia by having sex, and during the sex telling them you have chlamydia. It just doesn't work. It's sickening to see, more often than not.

You're probably thinking, well shit, we've gone from Superbad, to depression and self harm.

Yeah... I didn't structure this blog as fabulously as I should have.

It's difficult to comment on self-harm and this sort of topic without, to put it bluntly, being a dick, really. Self-harm is not something to be taken lightly, joked about or in any way emphasized as fashionable. It just shouldn't be shared, it needs to be dealt with fast, otherwise, like any other form of OCD, it will embed itself into the behavior of a person.

I do apologise that this has been such an emotionally dampening post. But it isn't said enough that social media is truly corrupting the minds of young people in more ways than one.

There is, simply, something fundamentally wrong and sickening at the very core of how the people behind Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr are making money.

Aaaaaaand on the bombshell...

I'm going to go and watch Superbad.

If you suffer from self harm and require help, please visit this website.

http://selfharm.co.uk/home

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Bus Etiquette

I've had this account for a while now, thinking nearly every day - "What on earth will people want to read about me, my life and the absolute bollocks I talk?"

And yet, AND YET.

Something that has always had a way of eating away at my very inner soul as I have gone through my adolescence, is the general etiquette of society. I am always trying to convince myself that I have a fervent passion for respecting others, myself and the community around me. In truth, well, that probably isn't 100% correct, the hypocrisy I seem to radiate is astonishing.

But, I digress. I spend an awful lot of time on the bus. I'm talking, a LOT of time here. I spend more time on a bus than your stereotypical single white mother dragging 3 half cast children behind her into town for their "big day out in town.", spending most of it in McDonald's and Primark.

Yeah, okay, that joke was in poor taste. I love McDonald's and Primark... Just not most of their customers.

Again, breaking off into a poor tangent; I probably hop onto a bus at least over 20 times week, and spend a minimum of 30 minutes on it each time. If you work that out, you have 10,080 minutes in a week. I spend 600 of those minutes on a bus. 600 hundreds minutes of my time, a week. 600 hundred minutes, sat on a cramped Stagecoach bus, stifled by the overwhelming smell of piss and the inane whining of lower year school kids.

I mean, to an extent, you can't really ever take out such standards on companies like Stagecoach, because, it's not as if they couldn't possibly hire bus drivers that look like they'd rather have a terminal illness than be at work. It's not as if they could even DREAM of attempting to clean the buses properly, or even, design buses that seemed to at least feel relatively comfortable. That really would be just pushing reality to it's edges, wouldn't it Stagecoach? And well, at the current standards it almost feels worthwhile paying extortionate prices for bus journeys!

I wish I could bring it upon myself to apologise for such an onslaught against Stagecoach, but guys, you're shit. Sort it out.

Today, I boarded the bus ready for my journey home (I was again greeted by a bus driver with a contorted face that was reminiscent of a bulldog's arsehole). I put my fancy 'travelcard' onto the scanner and sat down. Then plugged my headphones in and switched on some Snow Patrol. I tend to do that, just plug in the headphones and ignore the world on bus journeys. 

Now, I have headphones that were marginally expensive. It takes a CONSIDERABLE amount of noise for me to lose focus on music. But, somehow, somehow, christ. I don't think there are words in the English language that will honestly portray and do justice to the absolute level of raw frustration I was basically emitting to the entire bus as 5 little first/second year walking backpacks shouted and screamed for the entire bus to evidently love.

This situation however, is something I am relatively used to by now, as I said, Stagecoach buses aren't exactly the Dolce & Gabbana of the Transport Industry. But these little fuckers seemed utterly intent on pissing off the entire bus perpetually.

My tolerance is usually rock solid. I am usually an indefinite steel wall of emotion.

... Not today. Not when I receive a ball of paper hitting the back of my precious head.

At this point in the epic tale of the bus journey, I'd have preferred to have told a different version of events - more along the lines of...

"I STOOD UP, AND CHALLENGED THE LITTLE ONES PUBLICLY, CONDEMNING THEIR ACTIONS, CONFISCATED THE PAPER AND LEFT THEM TO CONTEMPLATE WHAT THEY'VE DONE."

That, sadly, is not the truth. I remained sat, with my headphones still on, furrowing my eyebrows occasionally in disgust. In fact, a girl sat to the left of me was the only one with the apparent balls to do anything about the bastards, and might I add, she did a fantastic job of it.

Now that I have confessed publicly to being too much of an utter man-child to stand up to misbehaving children 5 years younger than me. I will actually attempt to get to the point of this post.

If you were to ask yourself, when do you ever, truly, consider how the person sat next to you on a bus feels?

If you responded in your mind - "all the time.", you are the epitome of what it is to be a moral human being, congratulations!

... I'm kidding, it makes you strange. It's human nature to be a little bit nonchalant about others sometimes, we are both social and self-dependent creatures, I think it's important to have a balance.

But why, at such a young age of 11/12, are these children behaving as if nothing matters, as if everyone around them in a separate dimension to themselves. Of course, it's quite possible I've just forgotten what it feels like to be a child and I'm now stuck in the arrogant student phase, which is very, very plausible. Perhaps I am overly sensitive about how people behave in public places like that. Perhaps those kids at the back of the bus really were a little bunch of mischievous twats. 

Either way, I need to find a new means of travel.

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