Year 2013

An illustration showing what all happened in 2013. I do not own any of the picutres above, this is just to show what all amazing events happened in 2013.

Year 2013!! What a year it has really been!
I must say, this year, I started out with New Year resolutions. I got to admit, 2 out of the 3 New Year resolutions I wrote down happened. It may have been 3 small New Year resolutions, but you got to start somewhere right? One of my resolutions were to be more closer to my sister and not fight with her. I feel we have become more closer and talk a lot more to each other. What I love about my sister is that we have the same taste in music, games, movies and TV series. For that, I am truly blessed to have my sister.

Here are a few highlights that I can remember during the course of 2013:

·         Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had a baby girl called "North West".

·         Justen Bieber performed in South Africa for the very first time (and was not late for any of the shows this time around).

·         Justin Bieber is also retiring from singing. I think I am going to give this about a year or two, then you'll see...he will make a come back. So don't worry all Beliebers, he won't be gone for long.

·         Nickelback performed in South Africa, which I was really sad that I did not go to their concert.

·         Barak Obama visited South Africa, he went to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was kept. It was an honour to have the president of the United States to come visit South Africa.

·         The tragedy of Nelson Mandela's death, a great and powerful freedom fighter, as well as the great actor Paul Walker's death.

·         The tragedy of Cory Monteith, a great actor and singer, as well as Michael Clarke Duncan, Karen Black, Richard Griffiths and August Schellenberg. All these tragedies makes you want to mourn and think why did such talented, great and inspiring actors and freedom fighters have to leave us. I feel such heartache for all these freedom fighter and actors family. I really feel terrible for their losses.

·         Miley Cyrus's twerking and raunchy performances, especially the performance at the MTV VMA's. Ok, I know some people may find it horrible to look at, and some may find the twerking quite cool to do, after all, twerking has been around for quite some time. Many parents may not like the way Miley Cyrus has turned out, but you know, it is her choice. Everyone in life have choices they make, you just have to know there are consequences with the choices you make. I have to admit though, I was quite shocked at Miley's performance at the MTV VMA's 2013, but I understood that this is Miley's choice and her life, and she really does care for her fans (Smiler's). She really does. I have found that she is an amazing singer, and a very good actress. I have watched every single movie and series she has been in and have listened to all her music she has made. I love that she writes her own music and cares so much for her Smiler's! Miley is really talented, I just hope people will be able to look past her appearance and see what good she does for the world.

·         Big Time Rush began their "Summer Break Tour", alongside them was Victoria Justice, on 21 June 2013, and ended on 15 August 2013.

·         Heffron Drive had their first tour in Austria and Germany in May this year. Heffron Drive officially went on a winter tour held in the USA, which was between 23 November 2013, until 22 December 2013.

·         The Jonas Brother broke-up this year. It is quite sad news to have such talented singers and songwriters to leave each other, and their brand new album was going to be released and they were preparing for a tour. Then the album launch and tour was cancelled, but I guess nothing lasts forever...Kevin Jonas currently has a reality show, along with his wife, called "Married to Jonas".

·         Pokemon X and Y Nintendo 3DS game was released this year in October 2013. I have been a big fan of Pokemon from when Pokemon first came out way back in 1996. Well, Pokemon came out a little later than 1996 in South Africa, but I am truly happy to have the memories of playing Pokemon, collecting tazos and everything you bought was basically something to do with Pokemon. Pokemon isn't that popular in South Africa anymore, but I am still very happy to be a fan of Pokemon (Or should I say PokeFan).

·         Floor Jansen, the lead singer of ReVamp, has become a permanent member of the symphonic metal band Nightwish.

·         The Nickelodeon hit series "Big Time Rush" came to an end, reaching up to four seasons. I can still remember when the first season premiered, all the excitement around the series, the fans, and most of all, the creator of the show, Scott Fellows. There were such incredible actors on the show, who are really funny and super talented. One thing I can say that is really nice is even though the show has come to an end, at least we will still be able to listen to Big Time Rush music and look forward to more albums and tours in the years to come.

·         Burger King finally opened in South Africa.Within the first couple of months, Burger King was full, full, FULL! I even went there one day and waited one hour just to get my meal. Burger King's service is very good and they always makes sure their customers are happy.

·         The new frozen yogurt place, Wakaberry, opened up in South Africa. All I can say is, Wakaberry is just the best. Their yogurt is all organic (there is an illustration as to how the froyo is made in the Wakabery stores). All you do is grab yourself a Wakaberry bowl, fill the bowl up with as much froyo as you want (there are different flavours everytime you go to Wakaberry), and also add some toppings to your froyo, get your bowl weighed and dig in. As simple as that. Wakaberry service is also very good, there are always smiles and a positive atmosphere whenever you enter Wakaberry.

·         One Direction released "This is Us" documentary movie out in 3D.

·         This year, I learnt a lot more about 247Paps.TV - A New York based paparazzi. They are not the "in your face" or "up close and personal" type of paparazzi with celebrities, and they do not ask personal/private questions to celebrities. They are always smiling and always positive! If you view their YouTube channel, you will see that they are super nice people, and actually try to help the celebrities out. Most of the celebrities that you see on the 247Paps.TV even know who the crew is. The one crew member I know is Ceasar, a great guy and always nice to all the celebrities he videos. I have seen that the famous boy band, One Direction even know who 247Paps.TV are. 247Paps.TV even made a cameo appearance in the One Direction "This is Us" 3D movie. I am not saying other paparazzi are bad and always "in your face", but I have just seen that 247Paps.TV are super kind to every celebrity as well as their fans. You are welcome to check out their official website here: http://247paps.tv/ Here is also one video from their YouTube account, I highly recommend you subscribe to their account: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZoldDGZSh0&list=PLRzfX51TF4z8MmE5E3q-e3mqbIN-St44d&index=7

There were also quite a few amazing movies that were released this year. Here are some of the most popular movies that were nominated for awards, and movies I quite enjoyed watching:
Warm Bodies; Smurfs 2; The Host; Star Trek: Into the Darkness; Fast and Furious 6; Man of Steel; Despicable Me 2; Grown Ups 2; The Wolverine; Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters; Thor: The Dark World; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; 47 Ronin; Beautiful Creatures; Iron Man 3; World War Z; Prisoners; GI Joe: Retaliation; The Mortal Instruments:City of Bones; Scary Movie 5; Escape from Planet Earth; Frozen; Saving Mr. Banks; The Lone Ranger; Now You See Me; Oz: The great and powerful; Pacific Rim; Walking with Dinosaurs 3D; The Great Gatsby; The Internship; Jack the Giant Slayer; Ender's Game; Machete Kills; Monster's University; Turbo; Planes; The Croods; Epic; Blackfish; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2; Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters; Safe Haven; Khumba; Dragon Lore: Curse of the Shadow; Swindle; Jinxed and list goes on and on. These are just a few movies that I have seen during the course of this year, well I did not watch all the movies, but I heard comments that these movies were great to watch. There will be even more movies next year that will be just as good as these movies...maybe even better...These movies I mentioned were funny, emotional, action packed and whole lot of adventurous scenes.

Some of the movies that were released this year.

There were also quite a few albums that were released this year. Here are the albums that were released this year, from what I can remember: Big Time Rush - 24/Seven; Amaranthe - The Nexus; The Graeme Watkins Project - Soldier On; One Direction - Midnight Memories; Love and Death - Between Here and Lost; Avril Lavigne self-titled album; Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience; Paramore self-titled album; HIM - Tears on Tape; Lady Antebellum - Golden; Demi Lovato - Demi; Thirty Seconds to Mars - Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams; Tarja Turunen - Colours in the Dark; The Letter Black - Rebuild; Sirenia - Perils of the Deep Blue Sea; Timo Tolkki - The Land of New Hope; Flyleaf - Who We Are (EP); The Used - The Ocean of the Sky (EP); Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines; Selena Gomez - Stars Dance; ReVamp - Wildcard; Ariana Grande - Yours Truly; Jessie J - Alive; Miley Cyrus - Bangerz; Katy Perry - Prism; The Wanted - Word of Mouth; Lady Gaga - Artpop; Little Mix - Salute; Serenity - War of Ages and the list goes on and on. I have listened to most of these albums quite a couple of times and I must say all these artists I have just mentioned are all super-talented, have great music - some are emotional and very meaningful - songs are great to listen to if you can relate to these artists lyrics. As I have said before in my previous blogs, I absolutely love it if music artists write their own music. I feel as if the song they write are their songs, and you can relate more if music artists write their own music, as the lyrics are also about their own lives and their experiences they have had, and you can see that through their songs and lyrics.

Some of the albums that were released this year.

Amaranthe has released three singles from their new album, "The Nexus", you can view them here:
The Nexus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxOybZcRXhI
Burn with Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEgkUKCwi30
Invincible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnY8C77EQKU

Love and Death released three singles from their debut album, "Between Here and Lost", you can view them here:
Chemicals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CvKap2rY2k
The Abandoning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udbJaoLfqsw
Meltdown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp1dd_vq5Tg

Big Time Rush released two singles from their new album "24/seven", you can view them here:
The promotional single: Like Nobody's Around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34hPO8j75M
The first single: 24/Seven: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61XJ4k1pn1k

The Letter Black released a single this year from their new album "Rebuild", you can view the music video here:
Pain Killer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLun2zunP0E

I know this isn't an album, but I do know the actress/singer-songwriter Victoria Justice released two new singles this year, "Gold" and the B-side "Shake". You can check out Victoria's single "Gold" here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjy-WcKoxzc

Another singer-songwriter, CARA, who also may have not released an album this year, released a single "Same Moon", you can check out her song here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOTf3w8BP3Q

The French-South Africa pop duo The SoapGirls have released two new single for their upcoming albums, "Lie to Me" and "Looking for Love":
Lie to Me: https://itunes.apple.com/za/album/lie-to-me-single/id751686007
Looking for Love: https://itunes.apple.com/za/album/looking-for-love/id751693029?i=751693043

The Pretty Reckless released a new single this year called "Going to Hell" from their upcoming album "Going to Hell", as well their other single "Heaven Knows". You can view the songs here:
Going to Hell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmtbg5b7_Aw
Heaven Knows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVZe5K3PZig

On a more personal note:
I may have not met new celebs this year, but I did see local celebrities again this year. I have not had a picture with the celebs I met, but they did know who I was, and we chatted. I don't know what it is, but I actually don't mind if I do not get a picture anymore...might be because I already have a picture with the celebrity I met up with this year. Or it could be I am past that stage...anyway though, I am thankful for knowing these amazing celebrities.

Ever since the beginning of August this year, I have officially become a vegetarian. I am trying to become a vegan, but it is kind of hard to do so. I don't drink milk anymore, but I still eat yogurt and some foods and rinks that contain milk and eat eggs. I know it hasn't been that long, but you have to start somewhere right? Just a month before becoming a vegetarian, I watched a video of how meat is processed. I do know the animal is slaughtered, but seeing how they are slaughtered is really sad, and heartbreaking. I burst into tears to see how many animals are slaughtered. I have found out a fact that slaughtering animals for humans to eat actually effect the environment as the animals are fed a large amount of food, which could actually go towards the people who really need to be fed...I am not saying "GO VEGETARIAN!", but maybe just to think about it...I do know there are people out there who love their meat, and those who believe it is right to have meat as part of their diet. I cannot change your mind for you, nobody can, your life is made up of the choices you make. I do not wish to force you to change your mind about what you think is right. All our beliefs are different in many ways, so if you decide to completely ignore this section of writing, or decide to see more into this writing piece, then it is entirely up to you.

Here is a illustration from peta2, explaining how meat is made and how processing meat effects our environment. Most facts are from America as PETA originally started in Virginia, US. Here is the illustration:

An illustration of how meat is effecting the environment.

What I also found out that is really sad is that I do not want to go to SeaWorld, nor a zoo or circus as animals are not ours to use for entertainment. I have never been to SeaWorld, but after watching the documentary "Blackfish", I would not go to SeaWorld anymore. What I also have never worn is animal fur or skin. You are actually wearing an animal, another being on your body...it is kind of disgusting...anyway, I do not want to dwell too much on this topic as I do understand many of you have choices you have made in life. This is just my life choice I have made.

Theatrical poster for "Blackfish".

You can check out the "Blackfish" trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLOeH-Oq_1Y

For those of you who are interested, you can check out PETA and PETA2 website and YouTube account for more information (PS: PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). You can also follow PETA and PETA2 on Twitter. On PETA's website, you can find 100% vegan recipes, and also ask PETA questions as to how you can go vegan. If there are some questions that you would like to know, you can also read the articles PETA has on why animals are not for us to use and abuse. Many celebrities have joined PETA to help stop animal cruelty. If you are new to PETA and you also join the street team, you can receive a vegan starter kit if you'd like. One of PETA's motto's are: "I am 'someone', not 'something'." with regards to animals, an animal is 'someone', bot an 'it' or 'something'. Here are the following websites you can check out:
PETA: http://www.peta.org/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/officialpeta
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peta

PETA2: http://www.peta2.com/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/PETA2TV
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peta2

I also started listening to more heavy metal music, an example would be The Agonist and KAMELOT. I also started listening to Amaranthe. At the start of the year, I was busy searching for new music, and came across Amaranthe (You can read more of my thoughts of Amaranthe in my previous blog).
Over the years, I did hear about KAMELOT, but never really had the time to listen to their music. This year when I did, I was astounded as to how amazing their music is. My favourite song has to be "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)" who features Amaranthe's front woman, Elize Ryd and The Agonist front woman, Alissa White-Gluz. I then found out about The Agonist through listening to "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)". At first, I thought I won't be listening to The Agonist as I never really did listen to front woman who growl as well as sing clean vocals. I have listened to the rock bands Halestorm and Flyleaf which both front woman scream in their songs, but The Agonist was a bit different, definitely more metal music. After about 2 months of listening to only "Predator & Prayer", and then eventually "You're Coming with Me", I started to listen to The Agonist latest album "Prisoners". After the third month, I started listening to The Agonist previous two albums, and then become a big fan of their music. Their music is unique in a way that most of the lyrics are based on animal rights and society dilemmas. I now see The Agonist front woman, Alissa White-Gluz as a role model towards her fans as she is setting such a good example to the world. She was born vegetarian, and then later become a vegan. It was through Alissa that I wanted to live a more ethical life. I have seen some amazing quotes Alissa has said either on her Facebook or Instagram page that I found so inspiring. There are so many songs from The Agonist that I love listening to, but for the new fans who would love to listen to The Agonist, I highly recommend you listen to the following songs: "Rise and Fall"; "Take a Bow"; "Trophy Kill"; "Business Suits and Combat Boots"; "Memento Mori"; "The Tempest (The Siren's song; The banshee's cry)"; "...And their Eulogies sang Me to Sleep"; "Thank You Pain"; "Waiting out the Winter"; "The Sentient"; "Chlorpromazine"; "You're Coming with Me"; "Predator & Prayer"; "Panophobia"; "Ideometer"; "Lonely Solipsist"; "Dead Ocean" and "Everybody wants you? Dead?". The instrumental part at the end of "Ideometer" is very cool, and quite inspiring. The instrumental solo piece is the reason why I love rock/heavy metal music. Such talented singers and great music! Don't get me wrong, I love all kinds genre's of music, where it be pop, punk and classical, but rock/heavy metal is my favourite. Most of the music artists I have mentioned before have really good music.

Here is a YouTube link to The Agonist singles "Business Suits and Combat Boots", "...And Their Eulogies Sang to Sleep", "Thank You Pain" and "Panophobia":
Business Suits and Combat Boots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZo4bOZf3B4
...And Their Eulogies Sang to Sleep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXzIeI0mkFI
Thank You Pain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jud_SnKTlY
Panophobia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdT7M4f2L9A

If you'd like, you can check out The Agonist Facebook page:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAgonistOfficial
I know The Agonist has not released any new songs in 2013, but you are welcome to view their music videos on their YouTube account.
Here is the Facebook link to The Agonist front woman, Alissa White-Gluz official page: https://www.facebook.com/AlissaWhiteGluzFans

I have officially become a Street Team member of two amazing artists. I am a street team member for CARA, and for The SoapGirls.
You are welcome to check out the Facebook pages here:
CARA: https://www.facebook.com/CARAStreetTeam
The SoapGirls: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-SoapGirls-Street-Team/752937764733509

Overall, I think this year has been fantastic! I sincerely hope everyone else had a great year as well. All the new experiences, new liking to music and movies/TV series.
May the year 2014 bring you even more joy, excitement and new challenges, and of cause, new adventures in reaching your goals!
I hope everyone had a joyful and exciting 2013!
I wish you all to have an eventful and terrific time in the New Year 2014!

Amaranthe

For about 6 months now, I have come across a new band with a unique sound; the name of the band is Amaranthe. They released their debut self-titled album back in 2011, and have recently released their second album “The Nexus” in March 2013, with the first single “The Nexus” being released in January 2013.

Amaranthe consists of 6 band members: Leading vocals – Elize Ryd and Jake E; Growls – Andreas Solverström; Lead guitar and keyboard – Olof Mörck; Drums – Morten Løwe Sørensen; Bass guitar – Johan Andreassen. The band was formed by Jake E and Olof Mörck. The band began to take shape once Elize Ryd, Andreas Solvestrom and Morten Løwe Sørensen signed up to join the band. After the demo “Leave everything behind” photo shoot, Johan Andreassen who is the bassist of the band, joined, but he joined before the recording of the debut album.

A picture of Amaranthe, the band, from left to right: Andreas Solverström, Olof Mörck, Morten Løwe Sørensen, Elize Ryd, Johan Andreassen and Jake E (Picture taken by: Johan Carlén)

Amaranthe was actually first named Avalanche back when they started the band in 2008, but in 2009, the band changed their name to Amaranthe due to legal issues. Amaranthe later released their first demo “Leave everything behind” in 2009. Later in the year 2011, Amaranthe released their debut self-titled album, also releasing 3 singles, “Hunger”, “Amaranthine” and “Rain” in the same year as well as releasing 2 music videos, “Hunger” and “Amaranthine”. The following year, in 2012, a new music video, “1.000.000 Lightyears”, was released. This music video featured behind the scenes of the band as well as a live performance in the continent Asia.

Two screenshots from Amaranthe's debut music video "Hunger"

When I listened to the songs “The Nexus” and “Leave everything behind”, I immediately knew Amaranthe was going to become one of my favourite bands to listen to. I also love the fact that Amaranthe writes their own music and lyrics. Their debut album was charted in Sweden and Finland, with Sweden being at number 55 and Finland being at number 16.

After Amaranthe’s debut album, they released their second studio album “The Nexus” 2 years later in 2013. Amaranthe released their first single “The Nexus” off their second album back in January 2013 as well as releasing a music video too. Amaranthe also recently brought out another brand new music video “Burn with me”, which premiered 17 June 2013. Just before Amaranthe released their second album, I remember about a week before its release, Amaranthe streamed live on their website the song “Mechanical Illusion” for their fans to listen to and for fans to be even more excited for the new album. Their latest album charted in Sweden with 6 and in Finland with 4.




A picture of both Amaranthe's albums: Amaranthe's self titled album on the left and Amaranthe's "The Nexus" album

I actually found out about Amaranthe by chance. One day I was busy looking at new heavy metal band music videos on YouTube, and there was a playlist on the right hand side of the page. I think it was something to do with a playlist “recommended for you” regarding the type of music genre you are listening to on the side of the YouTube page. There is where I saw it say “Amaranthe – The Nexus” and also the background was advertising Amaranthe’s new music video, well, it was on Vevo videos that was advertising their new music video. So I decided to listen to Amaranthe and see what their music is like as it was in the playlist for heavy metal bands. What also caught my attention was the photo that was captioned for the music video was a front woman who was the lead vocals as I never knew there were two other leading vocals as well in the band. I love listening to bands, preferably rock/alternative rock/heavy metal bands with a front woman singing lead vocals. So as I was listening and watching “The Nexus” music video, I saw Eliza singing and then Andrea sang the screaming/growling parts of the song, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Jake E started to sing. I just thought to myself…3 leading vocals, one being a female, a male and another male who screams, combined together with the music sounds are FANTASTIC!! The song “The Nexus” is what got me into listening to Amaranthe’s music and now I cannot get enough of their music.

Amaranthe’s musical style has been described as pop music that is combined with a heavily metal core inspired by melodic death metal sound. Their music is also a combination of clean vocals (A female and male) with screams as well. I find that extraordinary! Amaranthe’s music is unique because of all the combinations of vocals and the sound of their music. I honestly haven’t heard anything like Amaranthe’s musical style. I haven’t even heard it from any person I know.  Their music is completely different to what I would normally listen to. Their music is really powerful and just unique!

Amaranthe’s latest album is definitely a must-buy! I have noticed that most of their latest music has a faster beat than their previous album. Some songs like “Afterlife”, “Stardust”, “Razorblade” and “Electroheart” have a faster beat and a song like “Burn with me” has a slower sound to it. Amaranthe’s songs are a really good listen, some songs make you want to jump up on your feet and dance to the beat. In my opinion, I have gathered that Amaranthe’s latest album is based a theme about the future, hence the songs “Afterlife”, “The Nexus” and “Future on hold”. Amaranthe’s songs are very excellent to listen to , I find it really hard to decide on a couple of favourite songs to choose from the two albums, but if I had to pick just one song, I would say “The Nexus” is my favourite song as this is the song that got me into listening to Amaranthe.

In their music video “The Nexus”, in the beginning, it shows armed men putting 6 of what looks like a coffin holding each band member in one, in a room. The music video then shows 57 years later, where all 6 band members wake up and throughout the music video, they try to escape the facility, but the armed men try to catch them. Throughout the music video, the armed men fail to capture the 6 band members and at the end of the music video, all 6 band members eventually escape, but only to notice everything, especially technology, has changed. An example would be instead of cars on the road, they are flying in the air. The words: “Will I wake with a life to remember, as I put the future on Hold”, appears right at the end of the music video.

Amaranthe's "The Nexus" single (left) and two snapshots from "The Nexus" music video (right). Music video directed by Patric Ullaeus

From when I found out about Amaranthe, I looked them up on Wikipedia and noticed that Eliza Ryd was a guest vocalist in a few songs from the band KAMELOT’s latest album “Silverthorn”, with the lead single “Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)”. Alissa White-Gluz from the band The Agonist was also a guest vocalist in the song. The two super-talented ladies were also featured in the music video as well. Elize has also toured with KAMELOT for 4 years already. Elize has recently been a lead vocalist guest featured on the Land of New Hope, a new metal opera project by Timo Tolkki called Avalon, in which Elize is the main character. Elize is also a dancer, as in Amaranthe's second music video, "Amaranthine", you could see Elize dance in this music video.
Jake E was previously in the band Dreamland and Dream Evil; Olof was previously in Dragonland and Nightrage, however, Olof is still currently with Nightrage; Andreas previously in Within Y and Cipher System; Morten previously in The Cleansing, Koldborn and Mercenary; Johan being previously in Engel.

So there you have it! That is the band Amaranthe, super talented vocals as well as amazing music and music videos. If you haven’t heard any of Amaranthe’s music yet, I highly suggest you do. If you like pop or heavy metal music or you would like to know what the two music genre’s sound like together, then Amaranthe is the band to listen to.

"Burn with me" single (left) and two snapshots from "Burn with me" music video (right)

A few songs I would strongly recommend to you if you want to listen to Amaranthe. From their debut album: “Hunger”, “Automatic” and “Director’s Cut”. From their second "The Nexus" album: “Afterlife”, “The Nexus” and “Mechanical Illusion”. If you would want to hear a faster beat, then “Razorblade” and “Electroheart” would be the best songs to listen to. If you prefer a more slower/calmer song, then either “Amaranthine” and “Burn with me” would be the best suggestions.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Amaranthe is a great band with incredibly talented vocals and musicians. Every day from when I first found out about Amaranthe, I have been listening to their music, sometimes even the same song 3 times a day. I haven’t seen them perform live yet, well if I did I would have written about my experience already, but I hope to see and meet Amaranthe and tell them how incredible they all are! There is not a day that goes by without hearing at least a few of their sings on my music player. If it weren’t for every single band member, Amaranthe wouldn’t be the same. All 6 band members are Amaranthe, and nothing can change that. All 6 band members make up Amaranthe.

Amaranthe recent photo shoot (Photo credit: Ville Akseli Juurikkala).
Amaranthe band (left) and the female singer, Elize Ryd (right)

I hope to see many new Amaranthe fans and for new fans to listen to Amaranthe’s unique and incredible music!

You can check out Amaranthe’s Official website, Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as see the band member’s personal fan pages on Facebook and Twitter:

Amaranthe:

Official website: www.amaranthe.se

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmarantheBand?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amaranthemetal

Band members:

Elize Ryd:

Official website: http://www.elizeryd.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ElizeRydOfficial?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Elizeryd

Jake E:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jakeeamaranthe?fref=ts

Olof Mörck:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OlofMorck

Here are the most recent music videos released by Amaranthe you can look at:

Hunger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y25snz83ms

Amaranthine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8lV1To-_fU

1.000.000 Lightyears: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DbAruY9z-w

The Nexus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxOybZcRXhI

Burn with me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEgkUKCwi30

Thank you to all who read this post,

It is much appreciated!

Overcome Bullying

As many of you know, bullying is a very big problem in our world today. It goes from emotional bullying to verbal bullying and eventually physical bullying, as well as people who have got disabilities. Today however, now that everyone uses the Internet, it has come to a stage where people even cyberbully another person or a group of people. It is so sad that bullying is so violent and physical that it can lead to suicide for some people, especially children. I have done some research and have found out children who are in elementary school get bullied the most, basically bullying occurs as children are growing up.

Bullies have an aggressive behavior that involves an imbalance of power and strength and it is typically repeated over and over again. Many people who are being bullied don’t tell their teacher’s or parents about them being bullied because usually, the bully threatens them not to tell or that bully will beat them up etc. Bullies will even bring up an event that you were embarrassed about, just to shame you. I am going to tell you how I was bullied since elementary school until I matriculated. During my school years, I have been used, ordered around, name called, blamed at, blocked out of groups, judged and I have been threatened.

An illustration of someone being name called

Over the years I have been at school, I have been bullied, more verbal than any physical bullying. It all started when I was moved to another school. It was my second year at this school. I was name called several times and it was very hurtful to me. I ignored the name calling as it didn't go on for too long. As the years progressed in my junior school years, when I was around my “friends”, they ran away from me and didn't want me in their group of friends. I was even being isolated from groups. I remember one day I just bought a packet of sweets to school and these two girls just kept on asking for more of these sweets, and were suddenly nice to me. I knew something wasn't right, but I brushed it off and carried on giving out the sweets. One day, it was during the time my grade had physical education, which we played soccer. It was really fun, our coach even joined in and helped my team and at the end my team won. My team and I were happily speaking to each other…but…all of  a sudden…a girl from the other team came up to us and said “Just to let you girls know, she cannot be trusted” and was pointing directly as me. The girl walked away and we were all confused as to why this girl would say something like that. A couple of girls and I walked to a staircase and were talking, when suddenly the other team of girls walked up to us and said that I cannot be trusted, I am a liar and I am a backstabber.  I turned around and walked away,but in the process I was being teased and picked on. After this day, not much happened. Now we go back to my high school years…

To start off with in my high school years would be in the very 1^st term in high school, we were allowed to select a class captain. I was the one chosen to be class captain and I was very happy because I thought my class respected me…but, it wasn't because they respected me. The consequences of being a class captain is if the class captain couldn't control the class and didn't assign to their duty, they would get afternoon detention. Little did I know my class only chose me so they can get me into trouble, this I only found out towards the end of my first year at high school.

This must have been one of the top 3 most hurtful bullying incidents I have ever come across. I can still even picture this scene in my mind. I was in math class, happily doing my work, until the teacher walked out to go somewhere…Right at the corner of my eye, I saw one boy standing there. I was suspicious, but let it brush off. Suddenly, the boy took my head and put it between his legs (No nudity here, we were all in school clothes) and everybody ended up laughing at me. I was crying inside because it was even being recorded by the boy’s phone. He asked how I spell my name and the girl told him how my name is spelt and I told them to please not tell my name, but they ignored me. When the teacher came in, I didn't say a word to her as I was afraid of losing any “friends” I had. I was humiliated as the other classes in my grade found out and laughed at me. I was walking home, crying to myself until I eventually was at home. When I entered my house, my mother knew immediately that something was wrong and I told her everything that happened at school and she was very upset, so she phoned my school the very next day.

The next day came, it was nearly break when the principal and vice principal came to my class and searched us to see if we had our phones on us. The vice principal found 2 – 3 phones amongst us, one of which were one of the girls. When break was over, word got around and there were stories saying I told on or something like that and I said my mother phoned the school. No one spoke to me…until I wrote a letter for my mother stating how I felt and what everyone was treating me like. One of the girls came up to me and told me not to worry what other girls are saying and was been incredibly kind to me. I then tore up the letter and told the girl I threw my torn up letter in the bin. She immediately walked up to the other girls and told them I threw the letter away, and I knew instantly the girl was just faking everything. What was very shocking is what came afterwards…the girls actually took the bin and pulled out every single piece from the letter I tore up, taped the pieces of paper together and they read the letter aloud and started to tease me. There was a teacher in the class, but he did not do anything about it. At the end of the day, the entire high school went to the school hall for an end of the day assembly. I was the first person in my class to sit in our class row, but no one in my class wanted to sit next to me. Eventually they had to move down the row as we needed to fill up all the chairs. Two teachers’ called me aside, asking why I don’t look happy and why no one was wanting to sit next to me. I told them everything that had happened in the past two days and one teacher told me not to worry about it and that it will all be resolved the next day.

Friday came and on this day however, during the morning time, my mother told me to ignore the girls and to continue my school day. I did just that, I walked past the girls, they asked me why I am a “tittle-tailor” and haven’t my parents taught me manners to answer a question when someone asks me. I ignored them. It was 1^st period and I was told to go to my grade head and tell her what had happened. As I walked back to my classroom, I could hear arguing. I opened the door and saw the girls give a look of disgust, but one teacher quickly rushed out and told me to wait in the library as she wouldn't want me to be in the classroom at this point in time. When I could go back to my classroom, my entire class was quiet and did not say a word. Break time came and most of the girls apologized for how they have been treating me, but the only problem with their apology is some of them didn't mean it; some were smiling when they apologized. I was still being teased about this event as the people in my class never let go of what happened to me and they brought it up in every slightest chance they had just to shame me.

Two illustrations of one being verbal abuse and another showing to stop bullying

These girls really bullied me, and it may have not been physical, but it was definitely verbal. I was being bullied so much in my class that I ended up moving classes the very next year. When I moved to another class, my own class cheered for joy and were very happy I was leaving the class. I heard them whistling and screaming “YAY!” at the top of their lungs. This really hurt me, to think they only used me to copy my homework and I meant nothing to them. When I was moved to the other class, my friend from kindergarten came to my school and was in the same class as me. Sure she came, but I was being name called again. I can remember these two girls who would ask for money from people and promise to give it back, but never did. They even took people’s food and would threaten them. One morning, the one girl put her fingers on my lips and made my lips look like fish lips. (Since elementary school, I have been teased about my lips.)I gently pulled the girl’s arm away as I did not like what she was doing and she immediately turned around, punched me extremely hard on my arm and threatened me. This girl was actually kind to people, but became very rude when she was around her friends.

As my high school years progressed, not much bullying really happened as I started to stay in the library most of the time to either study or read. I was still chosen last in every sport activity I was in. Whenever I was wide open to score a goal and asked if I could get the ball past on to me, no one ever listened and even though I was on their team, I was always ignored. When we had to do group work for any class activity, no one picked me to be in their group, so I ended up working by myself.

In the year 2010, our school was moving to another area, which was quite exciting, but I still missed my old school building. I remember when we moved to the new school building, I did not speak to anyone. The truth is, I didn't speak because I have been verbally bullied so much and I thought if I didn't say anything, then nothing would happen to me. My excuse to everyone was that I was in a new environment and I was still trying to get used to it. When I arrived on the first day I went to my new school building, I was quiet; no words came out of my mouth. To my surprise, the people in my grade actually asked if I was alright and I never spoke to anyone. I didn't answer any of them; I just looked at them and nodded or shook my head to answer their questions. I couldn't believe they actually cared!

About 3 months after we settled in our new school building, I started to talk again to people as some teachers were concerned about me.

During the 3^rd term, since there were not enough learners in the grade higher than me to become Prefects, my grade was also chosen to apply. I applied and really wanted to be a Prefect, I was coached by a current Prefect. A couple of people were chosen to be a Prefect, but we all first went on a trial so learners could choose which learners they wanted as a Prefect. It was really nice and I was enjoying being on trial, but the one grade higher than me who also applied to be a Prefect was being nasty to me. In one assembly, one girl in my grade was talking; I turned around and said something to her and the trial Prefect told me to be quiet, but never told the other girl to be quiet. They actually ended up having a full-on conversation instead.

One day, I wasn't on duty and sat with my grade. The Prefects on trial told me I wasn't wearing the correct color clip and I need to watch my attitude towards them. These words were coming from one girl who was wearing heavy foundation and visible eye liner, while the other girl had the wrong color hair piece in her hair and the other girl threatening me. They still wanted to correct me for my appearance before they looked at themselves first. The next day I reported this to the teacher who was in charge of all the trial Prefects as well as the current Prefects, and he laughed it off and told me not to worry about girls who are corrected me for my appearance.

An illustration showing a girl being verbally bullied

In the year 2011, there was only one big incident I can remember that left me in tears. One Friday, my grade was meant to help out with some soccer match, but I couldn't stay, so a couple of girls did. Monday came, only to find out the two groups of girls in my grade were angry with each other. Curiously, I asked what the issue was. The one group said the other group weren't listening to them and were rude on the previous Friday. It was between about 3 – 4 girls who attended on Friday, so the rest got involved.  I made a huge mistake as I got myself involved and became the “in-betweener” and told each group what the one was saying to the other group. This fighting between the two groups went on for a full week, but on the Thursday, I sat in my Design class as I wanted to get my work done. The one group that was sitting with me in my Design class were complaining about the other group. I told both groups to please stop fighting, but none of them listened to me. Later this day, both groups found out I was telling each group what the one was saying about the other. At the end of the day, two girls literally ran up to me and started to threaten me and left me in tears. The one group of girls told me it’ll be ok and they aren't angry with me. Even though I was guilty for telling each group what they were saying about each other, the one group was able to forgive me. Friday came and all the girls in my grade were called to a meeting with our grade head. It left 5 girls crying, one girl who wasn't involved in this situation and me saying on Thursday I got a text that said the one group is happy I am not their friend anymore and I am worthless to them. This girl who got herself involved called me a person who wants all the attention. This girl in fact, was an attention seeker herself by spreading rumors about herself that could not possibly be true. It was strange no one was upset with her, only with me.

In the year 2012, my final year in school, there may have been not much of me being bullied, but there was a presentation about bullying. The now Prefects who were in my grade spoke about bullying and why it’s not right to bully. This speech/presentation was coming from girls who were bullies themselves. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing, it made me upset that hypocrites are speaking about bullying. When I heard the Prefects will be speaking about bullying, I asked my grade head if I could speak about bullying from experience, but she declined and said Prefects have to speak. This made me even more upset as the presentation needed people to speak from experience.

As my last year in school went on, no one in my grade were really bullying me anymore, I think they actually grew up, realizing what they had done and just became more matured.

An illustration showing what type of bullies there are

This is how I was bullied and I would like to encourage people to stop bullying because it is not necessary to be rude and cruel to other people who have done absolutely nothing towards you. I also want to encourage people to overcome being bullied. You just have to stand up for yourself and be strong. I know this is weird, but when I was listening to my own music, it helped me and made me happier when I was at school with people who bullied me. I had and still do have the best parent in the whole wide world who would listen to all my 12 years of being bullied, my mother.

It is very sad to go to school and know your lunch or money will be taken away by someone threatening or physically bullying you. I have even considered committing suicide at some stage in my school life because I couldn't handle being bullied, but I found talking to a psychologist and also speaking to my only parent and step parent who listened to me was much better than ending my life for a bunch of bullies. I know you have heard and seen so many school presentations or any presentations concerning bullying, but do you think the bullies listen to these presentations? They will keep on bullying people until YOU show the bullies how strong and positive you are. Show them you don’t care what they do to you or say to you, because you have a more positive outlook in life. Don’t ever give into peer pressure or do things you don’t want to get involved in. Think about positive thoughts and stay strong! YOU are what YOU believe YOU are!

I thank you all for taking the time to read my blog,
It is much appreciated!

Fiestagram Exhibition

I received an email a week before to RSVP my spot to join the Fiestagram launch for the new Ford Fiesta. There were a lot of smartly dressed, young adults who attended this exhibition.

On the night of the exhibition, I went with my Uncle. The venue was at the Woodstock Exchange, the same location as the meeting with all the 8 contestants, only this time there was more to this exhibition. There were also coffee and beverage stands as well as a food stand where we received a lovely dinner later on in the night.

At the Fiestagram Exhibition.

When I arrived with my Uncle, we walked around and got something to drink in the meantime and then we sat down at a table. As a lot more people were arriving, I saw Tamara Dey who was one of the three judges for the Fiestagram competition and is also lead singer of the very successful band Flash Republic. I was lucky enough to have a photo taken with her and I also got to speak to her. Tamara is a really kind lady, she is super nice and really has an incredible voice. Unfortunately on this night, Tamara couldn't really speak to anyone as she had an operation on her throat. (I hope her throat feels better very soon as she has such a great voice!).

Tamara Dey and I.

As the night went on, everyone received 3 tiny pastry foods, which tasted really good. After that, a man welcomed everyone to the Fiestagram exhibition. He firstly told us about the 3 phrases the contestants had to go through:
1st phase: To enter the Fiestagram and then Ford's judges chose the 8 contestants. Each image was focused on a different feature of the vehicle.
2nd phase: The contestants all had a chance to make eCards of the images they took of the new Ford Fiesta.
3rd phase: This is when I saw and met the 8 contestants that came to the meeting and after that, they all went on the "Instawalk".This is when the 8 contestants spent 24 hours driving in the new Ford Fiesta and used 24 themed hashtags on Twitter for this phase.

After this speech about the 3 phases, another name by the name if Gavin who is the Ford marketing manager, came up and spoke about the 8 contestants and showed the videos the contestants uploaded for the Fiestagram competition. For each contestant, there was a hashtag with their entry that appeared on the TV screen. Here was the list of all the winners with the hashtags:
Leigh - #Style
Jono - #Sound
Vicky - #Handsfree
Arthur - Sanctuary
Lee-Ann - #Strating
TN Tobeko - #clean
Reginald Alain - eCard winner.

To keep the anticipation going of who the official winner was for the new Ford Fiesta, we all firstly looked at the photo gallery of all the Instagram photos the 8 contestants took in phase 3.

Some pictures from the photo gallery.

Taken from the middle of the photo gallery room.

Taken from the middle of the photo gallery room.

After checking out the photo gallery, we all received plates to dish up our food. You received 3 types of salad and you also had a choice to choose between 3 meaty meals to go with your salads. Your choices were: Lasagna, a burger or a vegetarian lasagna - which was quite healthy. The Ford company really know how to look after the people at their events.

The food that was served and a cup of coffee that tasted delicious!

There was also a lot of laughter and the people who announced the 8 contestants were really hysterical, they made everyone laugh. After all the laughs and anticipation, the winner of the brand new Ford Fiesta was announced...and the winner was Reginald Alain! Everyone congratulated him, all smiles and claps, he couldn't believe himself that he won.

Reginald, the winner, in the middle of the 3 people.

Reginald with his winning picture.

Here are some details about the new Ford Fiesta: It has beautiful lines; It has a sensational look; The lights look similar to alien eyes, which I found very intriguing; The car also looked alive and ready to go!

The brand new Ford Fiesta.

Overall it was a lovely evening, I had  a great time and so did my Uncle. The atmosphere everyone had was positive and alive, as well as some hysterical moments. We were all very happy for Reginald Alain, who is now officially a proud owner of the new Ford Fiesta, he was very happy when he won this incredible car. I am sure everyone else had a great time to! More importantly, I thank you Ford for this great opportunity and Ford really knew how to look after their guests...thank you Ford!
To find out more about the new Ford Fiesta, you can check out their Facebook and Twitter pages:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FordSouthAfrica?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FordSouthAfrica (@FordSouthAfrica)


Thanks to everyone who read my blog,
I really appreciate it!
Until next time!

Fiestagram

The new Ford Fiesta

Earlier this past week, I attended a meeting that had to do with a launch of the new Ford Fiesta.

The meeting was held in The Woodstock Exchange in Woodstock, Cape Town. This meeting was basically giving an overview of what the whole competition is all about. It was a lovely location where we all met. We had a breakfast buffet, which had tasty croissants and delicious health breakfast that consisted of muesli and yogurt topped with berries. Everyone that attended the meeting were very kind and introduced themselves to all the new people. There were more young adults at the meeting and all had cellphones with Instagram on it.

At the breakfast. We were served with delicious croissants and health breakfast.

The competition that is being held is called "Fiestagram". It is a competition that is a pre-launch for the new Ford Fiesta that is about to be launched. In the competition, there are 8 contestants that are chosen to compete against each other, one contestant that will be chosen will drive away in the new Ford Fiesta. I was told that the "Instawalk" after the meeting was phase 3 of the competition.

The contestants talking at the breakfast

The contestants had 24 hours to travel around in the new Ford Fiesta in order to get the "feel" of being in the car 24 hours (In the morning time, afternoon and night time, hence 24 hours). There were also 24 themes that had to do with the car that the contestants had to take pictures of. These pictures that were taken were uploaded on Instagram and Twitter and there was hashtags the contestants used on Twitter. An example would be "#Eco" which would show that the new Ford Fiesta is Eco-friendly, it has more power than a 1600 would and it has got great fuel consumption as well.

Everyone talking to each other, taking pictures for Instagram etc.

After everyone gathered for the meeting and ate breakfast, they then went on a "Instawalk" in the new Ford Fiesta and traveled around Cape Town.

The official launch and the winner of the new Ford Fiesta will be held on 20 February at The Woodstock Exchange. Before the official launch, the judges will first decide the winner with he best picture and then the brand manager, Tracey, will then reveal on this day the winner for the new Ford Fiesta.

At the meeting, I had the privilege to interview two members who are involved with the "Fiestagram" competition.
My first interview was with Ensly Dooms who deals with the social media for Ford.
Here are the questions and answers:
Question: What is the sequence for the Fiestagram competition?
Answer: For everyone into the new Ford Fiesta and travel to Camps Bay, Clifton, Muizenburg and Long street.
Q: Why do the contestants have 24 hours with the new Ford Fiesta?
A: There are different challenges for 24 hours. There are 24 themes and therefore, there must be 24 pictures for the competition and it is also to get the 24 hour lifestyle of the new Ford Fiesta.
Q: What will appeal to you the most about the pictures that are being taken by the contestants?
A: It must be visually appealing. What will the best capture of these 24 themes be and what is the best picture captured of the new Ford Fiesta.
Q: What date is the exhibition where you announce the winners?
A: 20 February 2013 at the Woodstock Exchange. All the pictures are taken as from 2 weeks before the exhibition. Judges decide who the winners are. The brand manager, Tracey Delate, will reveal who the winner is.
Q: Who is your target market for the new Ford Fiesta?
A: The youth. Somebody who is fun and who like super fast cars.

My second interview was with the brand manager, Tracey Delate:
Q: What will appeal to you the most about the pictures that are being taken by the contestants?
A: Must be visually appealing. The judges judge on numerous catagories. An example will be "#Kinectic" which will be the design of the car.
Q: Who is your target market for the new Ford Fiesta?
A: 25 years old and above. Somebody who is ambitious and driven.
Q: When did the Fiestagram start?
A: It started on the Ford South Africa Facebook page in October 2012.
Q: Where can you view all the pictures the contestants took for the 24 themes?
A: There will be a full gallery of the images of the Fiestagram at  the launch on 20 February 2013.

You can find out more about the Fiestagram on Ford's Facebook and Twitter page:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FordSouthAfrica?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FordSouthAfrica (@FordSouthAfrica)
The hashtag to find all the pictures that were taken of the new Ford Fiesta is: #fiestagram24
Ford was one of the first brands to use Instagram in South Africa.

Thank you to everyone who read this blog,
It is much appreciated,
Thank you!