The Society Islands, The Big Sleep | Music News

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Frostie

Band/Artist: The Society Islands
Location: Cologne, Germany
Styles: Indie Pop, Neo Folk, Dream Pop
Similar to/RIYL: Tame Impala, Grizzly Bear, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Porcupine Tree, Brian Eno
CD: The Big Sleep
Release date: September 26 (digital), November 14 (CD)
Members/Instruments: Boris Rogowski (vocals, guitars, bass, keys, woodwinds, percussion, drums), Moishe Lichtfuss (Saxophone), Benedikt Filleboeck (Trumpet), Isabelle Holder (vocals), Eva Bardo (vocals)
Production: Boris Rogowski

Bio:

The Society Islands is the solo project of the Cologne, Germany based singer and multi-instrumentalist Boris Rogowski whose other musical ventures include work as composer, studio and live musician for domestic bands and artists like Klee and Gentleman. He is also a founding member of the psycho pop quintet DIE SONNE.

His music as The Society Islands oscillates between neo-folk, dream pop and indie rock and is further characterized by unconventional stylistic shifts, ominous undertones and its creator’s firm belief that there is no such thing as bad influence.

“The Big Sleep” opens with the monologue of a person in a drug-induced state of wonder whose discovery that she “can’t use colour” only leads her to the conclusion that she “can do everything” – an adequate way of introducing an album full of musical and lyrical arrangements that never feel contrived or formulaic, but rather like something discovered by chance – in a state of somnambulistic certainty. The songs manage to conjure up musical and emotional landscapes which are as engrossing as they are hard to pinpoint; like dreamscapes, they tend to shift, blur and bleed into each other.

“The Big Sleep” as a whole can be read as a meditation on impossibilities: There is no way to start over with a clean slate, to change who you are or to make beauty – or even happiness – last forever. It would be a depressing sentiment, were it not coupled with the one good reason to keep trying: the endless creative power of discontent.

LUMOback sensor and app review

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Melissa Volpi

Lumo back is an unusual product. It aims to improve your posture using a small sensor attached to an elasticated belt that fits around your waist. It’s a light, all black product that is about two inches wide. The idea behind LUMO BodyTech’s first ever product, is that you wear it on a daily basis and the sensor will vibrate gently along your lower back when your spine is anything but straight. Lumo back has an accompanying real time app that shows you visually how you are sitting, standing or running etc thanks to your own personal stickman avatar called Lumo – who mirrors your posture on your iPhone and gives that posture a rating out of 100%. They call Lumo back a ‘Posture Coach’… but does it really work?

On opening the packaging, I am sceptical – the product sounds high tech but looks simple. Always one to keep an open mind though, I read the instructions and set up Lumo back for its intended use with me – which is to help improve my posture when writing and horse riding.

The app is free on iTunes and easy to download and set up. It’s an innovative but raw format that gives you as much information and help as you want. It can ‘track steps, calories burned, time standing, time sitting and the number of times users stand up each day.’ At the end of the day, Lumo, your personal stickman avatar, will give you a posture score ‘so that progress can be monitored as posture is improved.’

As much as I like this app, and Lumo my personal stickman avatar, I was less interested in this feedback and more interested in how quickly the Lumo Back reminded me of slouching when I was wearing it…

I first tried the product out when sitting at my desk. Since graduating with a degree in Photojournalism in 2009, I have spent a lot of time at this desk, writing feature articles and editing thousands of images. My desk has been a place of happiness and creativity – but also a great source of discomfort. Throughout these 5 years my posture has gone from excellent to poor and the slouching position that I have now acquired, has started to become painful and affect other areas of my life as well.

I knew that this product would vibrate immediently after I attached the elasticated belt around my waist. But what I didn’t realise was how often it would vibrate from there on in – and how self-conscious that made me feel. That constant reminder made me think about bringing my shoulders back and sitting as tall as I could. WARNING: This product does distract you from your work on day 1… but by day 7, you almost forget it is there.

I can honestly say that I do sit taller at my desk now. But what I also have to say is that Lumo back is not a magic product. You have to work to achieve good posture – it does not do that for you. And after 5 years of sitting in the wrong way, my muscles have still not memorised the right way yet. Discomfort is still there, but I’ve gone from 40% to 75% on my posture score – so things are improving.

The biggest test of this product though, was using it when I was horse riding. After 16 years of cycling to my horses on a mountain bike, I have developed round shoulders – which will one day, if I don’t do something about it, leave me with a stoop. And as I hope to compete in dressage competitions soon, the last thing I want to be is a horse-riding hunchback.

Obviously when you are horse riding, you can’t be constantly looking at your phone. So, Lumo was not able to help me here with his visual aids – for horse riding I was relying solely on the sensor to vibrate gently along my lower back when I rode in an inelegant fashion.

At first I couldn’t feel the sensor when doing schooling exercises such as rising trot, sitting trot or canter work on my horse. But the moment we came back to walk, I felt it vibrate – and it did this a lot through the walking phase. It seems that when I relax too much, I slouch. I need to be a little tense, or a little more preoccupied, to achieve good posture in the saddle.

Lumo back has shown me my weaknesses – when sitting at my desk writing, and when schooling my horse – and that is no mean feat. This product gives you a conscience when it comes to your own vanity. It makes you want to be a more elegant version of yourself. The constant reminders and daily posture scores really spur you into action.

I’ve come to see Lumo back as an essential part of my daily routine now. It has given me a goal. And that goal is to reach 99% for my posture score (I couldn’t say 100%, as no one is perfect, even with Lumo :-) ).

For more information, check out the LUMO BodyTech website:

http://www.lumobodytech.com/lumoback/

LUMOback is available from Amazon UK for £129.95 and includes free P+P:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LUMO-Improve-Posture-iPhone-Touch/dp/B00GD2MTSA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412838838&sr=8-1&keywords=lumoback

LUMO BodyTech are also bringing out a new product this October called LUMOlift Posture Coach. Lumo Lift will be available from Amazon.co.uk from mid October and Apple stores later in the month. It will retail at £79.99.

http://www.lumobodytech.com/

Kelly’s of Cornwall Ice cream Meringue Tart | Recipes

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Frostie

Ingredients:

6 tart cases

1 tub of Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream & Strawberries ice cream

6 mini meringues

Strawberry sugar to sprinkle

Chocolate sauce

Method:

Microwave the tart cases for 5-7 seconds (not too hot or the ice cream will melt). Add a few spoons of Kelly’s ice cream in to the tart cases and spread out evenly. Place the meringues on top, decorate with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and add some sugar sprinkles to top it off.

This recipe has been created by Kelly’s of Cornwall with Jacinta Zechariah, blogger of Jacintaz3as part of Kelly’s Creative Kids in the Kitchen 2014 campaign. To see Jacinta’s blog please visit http://jacintaz3.co.uk/the-day-i-died-and-lived-to-tell-the-tale/

Kelly’s of Cornwall Eddie’s Mess Ice Cream | Recipes

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Frostie

Ingredients:

3 strawberries, sliced
A handful of blueberries and blackberries
3 meringue shells, broken
2 scoops of Kelly’s Clotted Cream & Raspberries ice cream

Method:

Layer sliced strawberries, broken meringue pieces, blueberries and blackberries (leaving a few to decorate) in a fancy sundae glass then add a couple of scoops of ice cream. Decorate with remaining blueberries and blackberries and serve.

This recipe has been created by Kelly’s of Cornwall with Galina Varese, blogger of Chez Maxima as part of Kelly’s of Cornwall’s Creative Kids in the Kitchen 2014 campaign. To see Galina’s blog please visit http://chezmaximka.blogspot.co.uk/

Easterleigh Hall by Margaret Graham Book Review

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

The perfect novel is a truly wonderful thing: a key to take you away from your life. It transports you to another world and you can lose yourself and all of your problems for hours at a time. I read most of Easterleigh Hall on a glorious Autumn Sunday while the rain poured outside. I was grabbed straight away, the characters are so well-written and fascinating. Evie Forbes is a fantastic heroine: a ballsy, decent and ambitious young woman. She is smart and is willing to sacrifice and work hard to get what she wants.

Set in County Durham just before the First World War, it is almost impossible to review Easterleigh Hall without mentioning the success of Downton Abbey, and this book would make a similarly amazing TV series. It has its villains in Lord Brampton and a valet called Roger, every great novel needs someone to hate. Most of the rest of the characters, and especially the Forbes family, are impossible to not love. Things are not always what they seem and even those ‘upstairs’ come into their own.

Margaret Graham is a very versatile writer. Her other books are also amazing. Her historical books like this one are always well researched. You are taken into the past and you always learn something too. So not just entertaining.

Evie starts work as an assistant cook at Easterleigh Hall against her family’s wishes. Her family do not like Lord Brampton as her father and brothers work in the mine that he owns. But Evie wants to run a small hotel and her training will give her a way out. Little do they know that the world is on the brink of war. The book does not rush. It allows the story and the characters to grow, to really get into the story. I love this, you really feel like you know these people. This is a glorious read and one I will be recommending to friends. Luckily there are another two books in the series which will take us up to the Second World War. I can’t wait. It is out on October 9th. Read it, buy it or steal it. Okay, maybe not the last one.

Easterleigh Hall is available here.

http://www.margaret-graham.com

Dracula Untold – Movie Review

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Junior Smart

If history is anything to go by there are many different ways of telling the legend that is Dracula and even more when it comes to covering the subject of Vampires of which Dracula is seen as the King or at least the one who started it all.

King of the Dracula movies so far has been Ford Coppola’s 1992 version, but here akin to the recent films such as ‘I Frankenstein’ what we have here is a dramatic retelling of the origin story, complete with armies in the style of 300, stop motion capture in the style of The Matrix and battles in the style and glory of Game of Thrones and more bats than Batman Begins. If Francis Ford Coppola had access to CGI effects like these who knows what he would have created. Instead it is down to director Gary Shore to capably show us his vista of the hows and whys of Vlad ‘the Impaler’ Tepes earning his supernatural powers and becoming a creature of the night.

Set in Transylvania during the 15th century, Transylvanian prince Vlad is enjoying a long period of peace. He served the Turks well and his brutal style of combat has earned him the name of “The Impaler”. When Sultan Mehmed (Dominic Cooper); heir to the Turks throne demands 1,000 boys including Vlad’s own son to participate in his army with the ultimatum of not doing so being war and mass slaughter of his people. Vlad chooses to make a stand and seeks out an old mythical mountain and a nightmare creature (Charles Dance) in order to save his family and kingdom.

Striking up a bargain, Vlad is allowed to experience what it’s like to be a vampire for a short period of three days, giving him the strength of 100 men, the speed of a falling star and enough power to destroy his enemies. However, the catch is that he will also have an insatiable thirst for blood. If Vlad succumbs to this thirst he will forever be damned as a vampire and the evil that was contained within the mountain will be released. The story cracks along at a fairly fast pace; a solid film debut for Gary Shore who has directed from a script written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The dialogue is fantastic, very much the piece and the direction wise enough to have just enough scares without it crossing the boundary into actual horror territory. This film takes the honourable sympathetic approach to Dracula’s virtues – a man who is willing to risk all, including his humanity and sanity to save his son, his family, his kin and his kingdom.

Special effects alone cannot carry a movie and there are some great performances, Dominic Cooper and Charles Dance all carry their roles capably but it has to be said it is the charismatic presence of Welsh actor Luke Evans (Fast and Furious 6) which really anchors this film. It is incredible how he shines in this role, able to bring real emotions and real anguish to a character not yet previously seen. Thanks to him, you believe in Vlad’s cause, compromise with his predicament and feel empathy with his character when he seeks to exact revenge.

There is no doubt that Dracula Untold is a competent film, for many either they will either like it or hate it. There is just enough vampirism and love enough to soothe Twilight fans and more than enough action to suit the man cubs out there.

The slight let down is the ending which blatantly sets things up for a sequel. Hopefully if the film does well things could be very interesting indeed.

The Verdict

If you are into modern day imaginings, was a fan of the Twilight series and like Game of Thrones or Gladiator this film is your thing

8/10

Jennifer Lawrence: Nude Photo Hacking Was a “Sex Crime”

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Frostie

Jennifer Lawrence opens up about that nude photo hacking in Vanity Fair’s November issue, the digital edition will be available Wednesday, October 8 followed by the print edition.

The 24-year-old actress said: “Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this, It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It’s my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world. ”

She tried to write a statement about the incident but “every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry. I started to write an apology, but I don’t have anything to say I’m sorry for. I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he’s going to look at you.

It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime, It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change. That’s why these Web sites are responsible. Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody’s mind is to make a profit from it. It’s so beyond me. I just can’t imagine being that detached from humanity. I can’t imagine being that thoughtless and careless and so empty inside.

Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame. Even people who I know and love say, ‘Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures.’ I don’t want to get mad, but at the same time I’m thinking, I didn’t tell you that you could look at my naked body.”

“Time does heal, you know, I’m not crying about it anymore. I can’t be angry anymore. I can’t have my happiness rest on these people being caught, because they might not be. I need to just find my own peace.”

Cat or Dog Yoga: Get In Touch With Your inner Furry Friend | Great Gifts

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Frostie

It is bizarre present time. These dog and cat yoga books are perfect for your wacky dog or cat obsessed friend.

Filled with pups and paws in Yoga poses, is anything cuter than dogs doing yoga? Not much apart from cats doing yoga.

We think these books are a great present for the friend who has it all, the friend who has a great sense of humour or just your friend who loves their furry friend. From Prezzybox.com.

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