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| 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. |
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:
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had a baby girl
called "North West".
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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.
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| Some of the movies that were released this year. |
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| Some of the albums that were released this year. |
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:
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| An illustration of how meat is effecting the environment. |
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| Theatrical poster for "Blackfish". |
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!
