So I magically decided to have a look at the stats on my page today and oh my goodness was I shocked to find that most of my readers are actually from China.
My I am intrigued to see that most of views happen to come from China. I hope all of you are doing well and that you have been keeping yourselves safe during the lockdown. I suppose that given my larger engagement would anyone like to recommend a Chinese translated novel to me? I like learning about difficult cultures and how writers portray characters. If anyone has any clue as to what I should read and review that would be fabulous.
As for the rest of you reading this blog:
Thank you so much for reading what is supposed to be a pretty simple mindless blog. I am eternally grateful for the fact you have chosen to come back and read my content. Apologies for the weirdness of this post but I thought I would make a simple but thankful post as I have gone from having only 2 readers to now having at least 30 new readers. It doesn’t sound like much but oh my goodness I didn’t know how to contain myself today. Had a bit of a shit morning so getting this viewer engagement has been a very uplifting experience.
Until the next post then my amazing people! I hope you all keep well both mentally and physically during a tough year. Stay safe everyone.
Hello to everyone it is I the wondering explorer who never posts. I have returned with a post for you all today that I have been currently reading and really enjoying.
Today’s post will be about a new light novel series I have been reading called The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan. As you may have guessed by the title it is about a young boy who is the world’s strongest magic user who is deployed by the military to kill monsters known as Fiends. They ravage the Earth’s land and are so destructive that they also want to eat each other. Our protagonist Alus, has had enough of the regimented and exhausting job of exterminating the Fiends. Thus he asks for his retirement to go through but as the world is against this poor young man he is unable to retire. He is far too powerful to be replaced. Thus he is enrolled into a Magic Institute to get respite from the frontline from fighting, not that this stops the higher ups. Whilst there his entire aim is to develop the magic he currently possesses for the future of mankind as well as trying to find his ultimate replacement so he can retire as quickly as humanely possible. I mean what could go wrong?
So my initial impressions when I read just what the blurb was that the light novel was comparable to Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor. Though I find the protagonist of this series, Alus, to be far more enjoyable to read about. Why? well he’s smart, blunt and provides the most accurate information about the truth to the matter without really being soft on anyone. I like that about my characters. I love his honesty but also his unwillingness to help people who are super bratty *coughs Tesfia coughs coughs*. I like the fact that he has put the hard work into getting where he is now and the character development I am seeing with this character is great. The progress whilst a little slow, is perfectly understandable and is at a natural pace for how people would normally react to these situations. All the characters have plenty of potential to be given flaws and benefits and I like to think that they are all unique and special to the story.
My only negative if I was going to give this story any negatives at all would probably be the reason as to why Alus is training two students to become his successor. He apparently has some innate ability that makes him stand above the rest and should he ever die out on the battlefield he would have no one to replace him. I understand the need to find talent from a large pool such as an Institute but surely he would have chosen from the batch that was battle hardened and knew what they were doing? I get that the premise of this book was to make sure he could relax and have a fun time but he could have very easily just not turned up to any of his lessons and could have had the General-Governor to make up some sort of excuse. A little annoying in my personal taste but nonetheless it is the only thing I think is wrong with this story.
As per usual I found these books on Amazon Kindle and I am sure you can find them elsewhere. I hope you enjoy reading and I shall see you in the next blog post.
Hello again to everyone who is graciously checking out these posts by your’s truly. Today we shall be looking at the next F(X) member Luna. I will say my deepest apologies for having this post come out so long after the first one. A lot has happened as I’m sure you’re all aware of. Without further ado here is the second member of F(X).
Stage Name: Luna
Birth Name: Sun Young Park
DOB: 12 August 1993
Nationality: South Korean
Height: 161 cm or 5′ 3″
She was first scouted into SM after appearing on a TV show in 2006. Luna has one of the best developed female head voices in the industry. I stumbled across a blog post who has analysed Luna’s singing voice and if anyone would like to read it here it is. My general rule of thumb is that for those of you who do not know about any K-pop Idols then head over to K-Profiles as they have all the necessary information that you might need.
A few things to note about Luna is that she is a fantastic singer, and is appearing an awful lot more frequently in stage plays and musicals in Seoul. These include but are not limited to Rebecca, Legally Blonde, The Last Kiss and Coyote. As well as having a prominent Solo career and Youtube channel she is a ray of sunshine in the group and often acts goofy, along with Victoria. They tend to be the clowns of the group and act fairly light heartedly.
Her notable position in F(X) is Main Singer and Lead Dancer. On the day of F(X)’s debut she was so overwhelmed but was also incredibly happy to have finally debuted. Skipping forward now to and she has successfully left SME, moving to a smaller company called Humaps Contents to continue in her solo activities.
For anyone wondering what she’s like off stage and on variety shows my I suggest that you check out Masked Singer and also Knowing Brothers where she often shows her charming and silly nature to the public. If you want a behind the scenes look at her life then I would throughly suggest that you check out her Youtube Channel “Luna’s Alphabet”. A great show should you want to see her in a different light or setting.
If anyone wishes to see more content from Luna’s singing I would throughly recommend you check out her solo music. Free somebody was her first ever single as a solo artist under SME, but she has released further work that you should absolutely check out. I will leave the link to Luna’s work here. She has released an EP and a couple of other singles since leaving SM but I shall let you depart here and find out for yourself.
That’s it for today folks. I’m sorry it isn’t as long as I would have liked but it was all I could manage for this week. I will come back at various points to add to the content once more news comes out.
Hello everyone and welcome back to today’s blog post. Things on this side of the planet have been quite down over the past couple of weeks…well more like months. It hasn’t really affected me until now.
I started my weight loss journey of April this year, 2020, and I originally had an awful lot of help from my grandmother. She has been a massive help in trying to get me to do all of the right things in my life to get me more in shape. Some days were miserable and other days I just about managed to cope with the diet I was on. I would like to preface this by saying that I do not have an official diagnosis from a doctor nor have I had any medical help for my food related problems.
At my heaviest, doing no exercise either, I weighed close to about 16 stone, 225 lbs for my American followers or for my European followers, 101 kg. I was constantly eating all the really crappy food and had no lid on how much I was eating or had any idea how full I was. I always ate until I was completely stuffed. Sometimes going as far as eating until I could feel like I could be physically sick.
The first thing that you should all know is that eating large portion sizes is one of the biggest contributors to your weight gain. I still to this day eat chocolate and white pasta and rice and have all of the ice cream I could possibly want. However the thing you need to pay attention to is how MUCH you eat. It had never occurred to me just how many calories I put into my body on a regular basis. I started using this app called MyFitnessPal which is really good for giving a rough estimate for how much into your body, whilst also recording how much you exert out through exercise.
This leads to my next point. Exercise is essential to lose the calories you put into your body, to help you get into that calorie deficit but to also help tone you up. My personal exercise routine is CHEAP and EASY to implement into everyday work life, including an office job. The first thing you will so graciously need are a pair of legs, arms and a brain thats dedicated. Not to the exercising but to keep the commitment when you really don’t want to do the exercise. Trust me there will be plenty of days where you will not want to do them.
The first exercise I have done almost religiously, especially with my Grandma in lockdown, was going on a walk in the morning. Not a 30 min walk but for at least an hour or approximately 6 km, take your pick for distance or time. A tough milestone if you have a job that pulls you in for 9 am and keeps you till 5 pm. However taking a 30 min walk before you go into the office and taking your break to go outside is a great way to get round this problem. If you have the flexibility to walk for the full length it makes things a little simpler but by no means do you need to follow it to the letter.
The second lot, yes you did read that correctly, is to do light weights in the afternoon. I am about to list you some great exercises to do at home. NO GYM EQUIPMENT REQUIRED! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 All you need is space and a little bit of alone time to yourself. If you don’t happen to have carpet in your house like most of us British people do then a long yoga mat would work just as well. Anything to give you a little bit of cushion whilst you lie down or kneel.
So here is the exercise routine: A gentle reminder that this exercises have breaks for about 45 seconds in between the sets. So do one set of ten reps followed by 45 second break then onto the next set. If you need more time then go ahead until you feel better, if thats too long either shorten it or add more reps.
Warm Up – This can be done several ways but the main thing to focus on is that you want your heart rate up. You need to get the blood pumping around your body just so your real exercises aren’t as stiff or more difficult for you. I use the stairs as a way of warming up for a minute or two.
Squats – Sets – 3 Reps – 10 – The aim of this exercise is that as you go down you’re trying to keep your back straight. So you can feel your thighs working to push yourself back up. As you come up, this is the important bit, squeeze your butt cheeks together until you return to a standing portion. For anyone doing this for the first time it is sometimes better to try this whilst looking up at the ceiling so you don’t fall over. Like I definitely didn’t do 👀👀👀 but anyways you’re trying to get as low as you can go. For the more experienced squatters out there holding onto some dumbbells or something heavy to give some more weight.
Lunges – Sets – 3 Reps – 6 – Now these are BrUtAl. I am not going to sit here at my desk and not feel the utter pain that courses through my legs when I have to do these dreaded exercises. I can feel my thighs screeching in pain. If the walking up and down stairs doesn’t give you any indication of what torture is to come then prepare yourselves.
Flutter Kicks – Sets – 3 Reps – 10 – So you have finally moved onto the mat part of these exercises. Lying down on your back with your hands flat to the floor, you need to engage your core before raising your legs and kicking in the air. I shall insert a picture here for you.
For anyone who is unsure of what engaging your core feels like it feels like a tenseness in the abdominal area. If you are a little like me and have too much fat in the way to feel an engaged core – you have been blessed by the heavens for this exercise should hopefully be a little breather. You shall breeze through this with relative ease. When you begin to feel the tightness/engagement, which is not the same as holding your breath when you dive under water, move your legs like the diagram.
5. Glute Bridges – Sets – 3 Reps – 10 – Now this is exercise is going to target your back and very aptly named glutes e.g. your butt. Here is a diagram before I explain:
So like the like the flutter kicks you need to engage your core before you start the exercise and as you go up you need to squeeze your butt cheeks before holding for a second or two.
6. Kneeling Press UPs/ Press Ups – Sets – 3 Reps – 10 – Whilst still staying on the matt for the added comfort lets start on the arm portion of these exercises. If like me, when I first started, you can’t even attempt this part of the exercise because you have noddles arms and too much weight try doing elevated press-ups. Using a set of stairs or a table/flat surface can help strengthen your joints and begin to build muscle. After that just build upon the muscle you have now been bestowed.
7. Shoulder Taps – Sets – 3 Reps – 10 – So I was confused by what these meant the first time I heard them but as a quick visual demonstration here is a diagram:
Basically you’re attempting to do a plank with one arm. If you need to raise your butt and spread your legs a little more than the diagram thats fine too. the area you need to focus on are your arms, specifically triceps and shoulders where it will likely start to burn. Try not to move if you can as it honestly just makes the exercising more difficult and a little longer.
8. Plank Walkouts/ Plank – Sets – 3 Reps – 6 or 15 seconds – So the absolute worse exercise of them all is the plank walkouts. You need to stand up and crawl into a plank. Hold for about three to five seconds then push yourself back onto the balls of your feet before standing up. If you are an utter sissy like myself who complains every time I see this exercise you can substitute the walkouts with an actual plank hold for 15 seconds. Not on your elbows but with your hands on the ground. To make matters even more insulting, my 76 year old grandma can still beat me with a plank at around the 2 min 30 second mark. I on the other hand at 21 can barely hold a plank for 45 seconds.
With That Ladies and Gentleman and any Non-binary folk is the exercise portion done. If you can’t do any of the sets to the full sets do not worry. Build up the sets over time by starting at a minimum of 6 reps and work your way up from there.
The next thing I would recommend, should you want to lose the weight you have, is to grab a book called “How to have your cake and skinny jeans.” by Josie Spinardi. An utterly brilliant book to help keep you from feeling that binge diet depression and to also help find the answer to why you do binge eat or overeat. I could not recommend this book enough for those, who like me, binge eat and compulsively eat.
In summary Spinardi analyses why humans and the psyche are bad at sticking to diets and why realistically they are unhelpful and damaging. As well as informing you that they can actually cause you to eat more food.
If anyone would like to hear about the foods I have been eating please feel free to comment. Otherwise stay safe and healthy and always be happy. Until next time guys.
This is going to be pretty blunt and to the point but I decided it would be a little better to just tell you instead of going awol on you.
I found out last Friday that my girlfriend’s mother had suddenly died from a heart attack. As such I would like to take a couple of weeks off to just allow myself to be there for my girlfriend in such a difficult time. I will try to post where I can but the posts may become infrequent, even though they already are.
I hope sincerely from the bottom of my heart that everyone is looking after themselves and you are all safe.
Hello people of my unique blog and welcome to this weeks blog post. Today I want to talk to you about K-pop albums and where to buy them. This is a small list that will need a second blog post for so watch out for that. This post is mostly aimed towards my U.K. K-pop lovers but all the websites listed are available for everyone.
Amazon
Now this shouldn’t come as a very big surprise but Amazon is more often than not the best place to start off your search for K-Pop albums. the interface is pretty easy to use, except for when you want specific merchandise of a band. More recent releases are slowly being steered towards Amazon, much like WONHO’S new debut album. Ugh that man! I shall write a blog post about him for all your girls and gays who appreciate a bulky man. Prices for this site are honestly a little pricey for what you’re getting but you do have the added security that amazon isn’t going to pluck your money from you and not give you anything.
2. KTown4U.com
A brilliant website if you happen to live in the US. You get charged a little bit extra for other international shipping but otherwise the user interface is a lot more organised than Amazon. Groups are organised alphabetically with other categories like Solo artists and new merchandise done in the same way. They also have the charting albums listed in a nice pictorial form which makes it that much easier to see who is trending in Korea at the time of looking. I would say that there are plenty of deals on to make sure that you can access these albums for the best possible price, including being ever so slightly cheaper from Amazon.
3. COCODIVE
The site is pretty easy to manage and a great place if you want to grab a nice bargain before being able to check out. They do have a time limit on the discount coupon so make sure you know exactly what you want before going onto the website. They have plenty of groups on the list, so long as they have released content, light sticks are available as well and their collection is extensive. Updated pretty quickly compared to other sites so a great place to check out if you need to have something quickly for a preorder.
4. KpopMart
If you want more than just albums and really immerse yourself into the culture of K-pop then you may want to give this site a try. K-pop March as well as K-beauty and Snacks this site will give you everything you need in order to live just a little closer to the real thing. Prices can be a tad high but you don’t have to pay quite as much for shipping. Due to the extensive collection this site has, including Solo artists and older or disbanded groups it is well worth a look.
5. Kyyo.co.uk
For anyone who lives in the U.K. then this one is for you. This is a quick guaranteed website for anyone who lives on this small but significant island. Quick service and a quick response from customer service to get you onto the right path should you need the help. They have K-pop albums and merch. This includes BT21 for anyone who wishes to buy any of the Line sticker characters created by BTS. They have plenty of different t-shirts, jumpers, hats and lanyards as well as stationary for you to enjoy.
That will be all for today and I hope to meet plenty of you in the next instalment which will be coming in a couple of days. I apologise for the late post but I have had no WiFi at my house for the past two weeks as I have been moving from one part of the U.K. to the other. Stay happy and healthy everyone!
On the 28th July 2020 the EU, European Union, decided that 6 of the 8 towns asking for funding from the EU would be denied. Poland, which recently underwent its general election, still maintains the conservative views from the PiS who believe that no one from the LGBTQA+ community should be allowed to love who they want. They firmly believe that only men and women can marry and legally be seen as married.
The EU commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, made her voice clear on twitter writing:
“EU values and fundamental rights must be respectesd by Member States and state authorities. This is why 6 town twinning applications involving Polish authorities that adopted ‘LGBTI free zones’ or ‘family rights’ resolutions were rejected.”
This has been the first big decisive financial consequence for Poland, who is desperate to increase it’s relations with other European countries. There has been an ongoing battle with the Polish government who continues to try and disregard the people that just want inclusion and the ability to be equal.
What does this mean for the LGBTQA+ community in Poland?
The short term implications could mean backlash against anyone from the LGBTQA+ community. Especially from those in power and from the government itself. The long term implications, however, could prove positive and perhaps allow a way for those living in Poland to gain equality like the rest of the country.
Why should I care?
Well if you have lived anywhere in Europe, continent and from the union, you will likely be more accepted for being a part of the LGBTQA+ community. In Poland you do not have the same equality. Poland is still first in being the most restrictive European country for LGBTQA+ rights. Unlike most European countries Poland is still desperately trying to change the fate that it’s residents are subjected to. It isn’t about one country being better on equality it is about making all countries equal no matter who you love and how you love them. Loving the same sex shouldn’t have to be such a struggle, especially if it is turning out to be that your LGBTQA+ community is growing.
Further research being undertaken in Poland shows that due to the exposure of LGBTQA+ people the opinions on the community as a whole are slowly shifting. From negative thoughts comes education and from education comes inclusivity. Showing people that who someone loves shouldn’t matter, not like how the straight people like to imagine it anyway.
So for the first instalment of this new “series” I thought I would start off with the oldest member and Leader of the group Victoria.
Stage Name: Victoria
Birth Name: Qian Song (also known and Victoria Song)
DOB: 2nd February 1987
Nationality: Chinese
Height: 168 cm or 5′ 6″
Well where on Earth do I start with this talented, amazing, woman. I should probably start off with how she managed to get into SME to begin with. She was scouted after appearing on a dance competition in Beijing in 2007. She was originally due to become a model and actress under SM but instead was put through the rigorous training programme to become an Idol and debut with the other F(X) members.
Before the members of F(X) first debuted she managed to gain popularity with the public by appearing on TV shows, ad campaigns and MV’s for other SM artists. So when she managed to debut she already had a small following with fans.
Victoria over the years has proved time and again she is more than just a visual of the group. She has always strived to be the best person she can be and often tries to improve herself to help communicate how she feels at a higher level. She is very well known for being one of the most flexible female idols in the industry, as shown by the numerous times she’s asked to show off this talent to Show hosts and Game shows.
Victoria does in fact have a booming career in China, mostly as an actress and Show Host, including dance competitions and Idol eliminations. though despite all of this Victoria also has a Solo album titled “Victoria” and a single released in 2018 called “Roof on fire” which is a mother freaking bop let me tell you. Sadly the album cannot be listened to on any music platform and it doesn’t show up on Apple Music so I have yet to hear it but you can find Roof on fire on youtube which can be listened to here. As of this moment she is currently under a subsidiary label of SM but considering the other girls leaving SM I wouldn’t put it past her to leave or end her contract once it expires.
Despite all of this she is the funniest member of the group and often likes to be witty with the girls. She has one of the most infectious laughs in the world and I adore this woman. I could recommend any of the shows that they filmed as a group because it showcases just how funny this woman is. she knows when to act silly beyond belief but can also be a support mentor and friend to the rest of the members. She is thus dubbed the “Mother” of the group with the girls often calling her Mum as a joke.
That’s all I have for this blog post this week. My apologies for getting this out so late but there we are. I hope you support her just as much as I do and I’ll see you all in the next blog post. Stay happy, healthy and safe everyone.
Hello to everyone who has landed upon this dear old blog of mine. There is nothing holding me back today, except for maybe my incredibly bad allergies. I am allergic to all things summer and hide in my room in the hopes that the pollen and grass stay far away and provides coolness and snow.
I wanted to talk today about my favourite K-pop group because why the heck not? You clearly wanted to read more and this shall be the content I give to you in the form of not just one super long post but in five consecutive shorter ones. Am I really just click baiting everyone? Possibly 😂😂😂. My love for this group knows no bounds and all my friends and family literally do not get it but to me they are my beacons of hope and growth.
Today my good people on the internet I present to you F(X)!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
My Queens!!!!!! LOOK AT THEM! Ugh absolutely freaking flawless. Now just sit tight a little whilst I try and compose myself for the underrated queens of K-pop. When I say underrated I mean this in every sense of the word. No one in the new waves of incoming Kpop fans have even remotely heard of this group and it makes so utterly miserable that I just need to spread awareness.
This LEGENDARY girl group debuted on September 5th 2009 with their first single La Cha Ta, if you would like to hear it then here it is. The girls are mostly known to perform electric/electropop and experimental music. When people usually think of K-pop to be honest with you they probably think a little bit about this type of music. It isn’t mainstream at all and that is perhaps one of the many things I love about this group. It wasn’t because of the cookie cutter mould that their Entertainment agency is best known for.
S.M Ent otherwise known as SM is one of the dominating agencies in Korean Pop Music. Housing powerful other groups like the one and only Bora, SHINee, EXO and the Nations girl group SNSD also known as Girl’s Generation. (There will be posts on all these groups in the coming weeks). F(X) were the first group that explored different sounds outside of the popular music featured by many artists today, including their younger sister girl group Red Velvet who have adapted the style F(X) ultimately started.
The group consists currently of 4 members, Victoria (Chinese), Amber (Taiwanese/American), Luna (South Korean) and the youngest member Krystal/Soojung (Korean/American). Sulli was also a part of the group but left in 2015 to pursue an acting career instead. On October 14th 2019 Sulli Tragically passed away, when or if I write this post I will try to be as respectful about her death as best as I possibly can. She is a part of my happiness despite no longer expressing that happiness in the living world I still hope that she is enjoying herself elsewhere.
Their albums, should you want to check them out appear in this order:
NU ABO – EP
Pinocchio – 1st Album
Hot Summer – Repackaged Album
Electric Shock – EP
Pink Tape – 2nd Album
Red Light – 3rd Album
4 Walls – 4th Album
4 Walls Docking Station – Concert Playlist
So as you can see they have a good choice of songs as a group. If you want a great or varied listen my advice would be to check out Pink Tape followed by 4 Walls for a more EDM sound. However just check everything out there is something for everyone.
My Top 5 Songs from F(X) are:
Diamond – Look at their Live Performance Stage for this and you will understand why
Red Light – A super close second
All Mine – SUMMER BOOOOPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!
Rum Pum Pum Pum – Brilliant for a summer party bop or listen in a car
Beautiful Goodbye – The Harmonies on this song are *chefs kiss*
Again my personal favourites so might not be to everyone’s cup of tea but I love listening to these five on repeat. Can I sing the lyrics? Absolutely not but give me the beat and I will happily sing along. I will of course dive into the members and their solo works/ projects over the coming weeks but until then you will simply have to stay put and wait 😂😂😂😂.
Until the next time fellow readers, stay safe, healthy and happy.
So in the past few days I have done some more research into Self-ID and how it can be impactful on trans lives. As I was looking on all the things to do with Self-ID, I stumbled across the terrible topic of public toilets.
A dreaded topic of conversation for those in the trans community but it is something that despite it literally being a cubicle for waste secretion, has turned into a very hot topic of debate. For those of you who have not managed to transition to the opposite gendered toilet, you are not alone, and for those who have what was it like going into the opposite toilet? Scary? Uplifting? Anti-climactic? Happy? The ability to safely pass in the opposite gendered toilets is a substantial last stepping stone for those wanting to transition. You’re ability to mask and blend into your surroundings have paid off to the extreme and you are now able to use the toilet of your gender.
So what’s all the fuss about?
Toilets as many of you are aware have been a difficult topic of conversation for many. The straights and Cis-gendered individuals have taken it upon themselves to decide for those in the Transgendered and Gender Fluid/Non-Binary communities. That these individuals are not allowed to use their toilet of choice and should not be allowed in spaces where they go to the toilet. The only reason as to why so many cis-gendered people have a problem with those in different gender communities is because they want to protect women and children from sexual assault and predators. This is a particular case for those who live in North Carolina and twelve other states in the US. In 2016 North Carolina was the first US state to put into Law that all transgendered individuals had to go into the bathroom that they had been assigned to at birth. This means that if you are a trans man you had to use a women’s bathroom no matter where you were along the transition period. This set off a chain reaction to other states. This law was mercifully given a small leeway for individuals who wanted to use spaces in public but it do not for any reason give them any protection.
Why should you care?
You need to care because this could happen to anyone at any time. People physically assaulted for just using a bathroom because the straights, specifically white older men do not like what they don’t know and have no contact too. For it could set off a trend here in the U.K. should the wrong sort of people get into power.
Psychedelic Blues 