If there’s anything in London I find fascinating, it has to be that person inside the Underground singing a song:

However, the London Evening Standard claims that “Buskers who play their music too loud are putting the hearing of commuters at risk.” The article also claims that some of the music reached beyond 100 decibels–”the same level as a plane landing at Heathrow.”

Though the London Evening Standard is giving the noise a bad rap, listening to music on the Underground, or anywhere in London, is WAY better than hearing the two girls behind as I’m about to go from one line to another talk about Jedward. And don’t wish for any Jedward types performing on the Underground!

On a related note, this was my perception of buskers long before I visited (and lived in) London. I also blame this video for making me think that London is a romantic city:

Original Underground Creepers now in stock at Urban Outfitters. The authentic Underground Brothel Creeper now in stock at Urban Outfitters along with other Underground styles. The black suede lace up shoe- AKA Barfly is at Urban Oufitters USA. Check the website for other stockists or visit www.underground-cybershop.co.uk

Olha, eu juro que tive mais medo do Vincent Gallo em A Casa dos Espíritos do que neste filme. Billy Brown consegue ser frágil e doce, mesmo com as porradas que levou da vida. E ele tem uma saída. Mesmo quando a vida se restringe a uma tonelada de merda e mostra a ele, naquele néon brega e piscante  o “dont’ worry, payback” , Billy pode escolher. O amor estava lá para salvá-lo.

Ok, a pessoa que vai dar amor e carinho ao Billy não é sua família, é uma estranha. Ele não sabe de onde ela é ou o que faz, mas ela o sacode com a intenção única de colocá-lo diante daquele néon cafona que perturba sua mente com uma resposta: “Payback my ass, eu quero viver em paz”.

E quer saber? Até eu teria uma forte Síndrome de Estocolmo com o Vincent Gallo, que por pura cabeça oca minha não entrou naquela lista chics que fiz.

‘The mainstream comes to you, but you have to go to the underground.’ ~Frank Zappa

One of the worlds most beautiful women Ayi Jihu tells us how she manages to keep herself in great shape. Recently being voted one of the top 100 most beautiful women on the planet has put even more stress on the Chinese star to make sure she is always looking good and at her best. We asked her how she kept in shape.

The whole concept behind my workout is not to look skinny but to look fit and keep my curves. To be honest there is no special food, or new workout that I really do but there are several common sense things which I must do to stay in shape. If I did have some kind of secret formula or technique it would be dancing! I have a particular style of dance, some call it dancehall, some call it belly dancing. The key to this kind of dancing is amazing lower body strength and technique. It’s not aerobics It’s more bump and grind meets belly dance. The great thing about it is it allows you to build up your strength, stamina without loosing your curves. I love dancing. When I go out I go out to dance more than anything else. I’m not one of those girls who waits for the dancefloor to be filled with people before I start dancing either. The moment I hear good music thats it i’m dancing. So my first tip to ladies is go out there and have a good time dance in clubs at home anywhere you can, just have fun without even thinking exercise.

I recently became brand ambassador for YogaWorld in Macau. YogaWorld is not just about Yoga they have many great classes and its only for women. They do Belly Dance, Yoga, Pilates, and so many other innovative classes. They also do belly dancing classes which I really love. For the way I dance and move it’s one of the most important classes I do and it’s really taking of in Asia. It’s funny to see all these very skinny Asian women doing belly dance because we are so used to seeing women with curves and a bit of a belly doing belly dance. It shows that there are no boundaries anyone can do anything and belly dance is a great way to stay fit. When I am performing on stage I use belly dance in my opening intro sometimes. I fuse belly dance with Hip Hop, Ragga and R&B and it seems to drive people crazy. It’s such a wonderful form of dance, you feel so sexy and powerful when you are belly dancing, you know exactly what you are doing to the people watching.

I get up every morning and run a few miles. This was hard for me to get into the habbit of doing but I had to learn to do it. Nothing beats running for keeping you fit. I do it first thing, because if I think about it too long I end up finding an excuse not to do it. So my advice is get up have a quick shower and get out there and power walk or run every day first thing in the morning.

One of my favorite exercises is lunging. I do it several times a day all through the day. I love a good bum especially on a woman and if you want to keep your bum perky and shapely lunging is one of the best things to do. I grab a couple of weights or bottles of water if you don’t have any weights and I take long steps forward pushing back to my original position. It’s a great excercise.

I’m a big fan of box fit which I also do. I have a great personal trainer although he’s in Macau right now and I miss him, he’s great! Box Fit is a great way to boost your confidence also. Being a woman these days is not always easy especially if you are very beautiful, men can be quite rude and touchy. I find doing martial arts and box fit help me mentally as well as physically to feel more confident in general.

Box fit is great for your reflexes and the fact that you get to scream and shout and let it all out while doing it is great. I love it and do it at least 3 times a week. I get real sweaty, I let all my frustrations out and get to smack the hell out of my trainer.

Ayi jihu’s debut Album Try Me is available on Itunes and Amazonnow.

I get a lot of questions about my books and my background, and I thought I’d just take a few moments here to discuss some of my most frequent questions, and to introduce a few of my books you might not be aware of the existence of.

I’m often asked about my connection to the paranormal, and why I spend so much time writing paranormals.  All I can say to that is that my LIFE is a paranormal.  There’s a great deal about me that only the people who’ve been the closest and most open toward me have even touched the surface of.  I just don’t talk about it, much.  Period.  There’s no deep and/or nefarious reason to that.  A lot of it has more to do with the fact that I’ve thought of it as “normal” for so long, I was surprised to learn that it actually WASN’T.  To me, writing about the paranormal is writing about something I know intimately, something to which I have a deeper connection than any other in my life.

My first excursion into the paranormal in fiction was a series of Arthurian novels I began work on many years ago (being likewise obsessed with all things Arthurian at the time).   Nope, these books are still unpublished.  Not from any huge sentimental attachment, but because as my writing skill developed and changed, I’ve continued to edit and perfect, and quite frankly, I’m just not convinced they’re good enough, yet…:)  That’s the perfectionist in me.

In the late 1990’s, I began working on a novel that once again combined the paranormal with a subject very close to my heart – the Cradle of Civilization.  When I first started the novel, entitled IN HER NAME, it was meant to be a stand-alone novel entwining the dangerous mythology of the region with the archeology I was fascinated by.  Then, in 2001, terror struck the US and, after listening to people openly rebuke the Arabs even before the dust settled or any investigation was done, I was angry.  Not at the Arabs, but at the close-mindedness of a nation that would condemn a person strictly on their beliefs, without understanding how the actions of a few do NOT reflect the beliefs of the many.  And my main character, Manara, began to take on a new shape – not as an Arab, but as a woman of a belief structure even older: a religion feared because it’s not understood, and a woman despised for her beliefs in both her own world and in the eyes of an American man with a deep hatred of all things paranormal or supernatural – a hatred even he doesn’t quite understand.  IN HER NAME became the birthing of Project Prometheus, a paranormal series that deals equally with the misunderstanding and hatred that lead to terrible acts of violence in our world.  You can find out more about IN HER NAME and the rest of Project Prometheus on my website at http://www.esthermitchell.com/projectmain.html

Even before Project Prometheus (or IN HER NAME) breathed life, however, there was another series already working toward completion in my life.  Born of my youth growing up in the military world, and of my respect for the men and women who serve and were my friends and extended family for a great number of years.  From my own mistakes (and the possibilities of mistakes I came close to making), my own triumphs, dreams, and heartaches, came the character of Tamia Kuan, a reformed street punk and recovering heroin addict whose years as a Marine in the middle of a massive world war have left her struggling to find the honor and courage that can keep her alive and sane.  When she gains entry to the ultra-elite Commandos, Tamia has more struggles ahead of her, facing her greatest fears and most dangerous enemy – herself.  Tamia is one of the central characters of my Futuristic Romance/Thriller series, Underground.  Beginning with the self-named novel TAMIA, each book follows the twists and turns of a hunt for a spy capable of destroying everything Tamia’s struggled for.

Upcoming next year, I’ve got another series coming out – this one will be a Fantasy series, Legends of Tirum.  I’ll be going into details on this series a little more around the beginning of the year.  It’s set up in a similar vein to Underground, with a central set of characters and a continuing storyline that takes place over the span of 10-11 books.  I’m actually very excited about this series, and when I begin to post more information on the series you’ll get to see why!

More information about both the books here and other books I’ve written in these series and beyond can be found on my website at http://www.esthermitchell.com

A heated discussion where words proved stronger than bullets. The work ethics of JSM Corp which runs Hard Rock Café in India was looked upon with suspicion by members of the panel and the audience. The dire need of musicians developing their own venues was given top priority once again. – Excerpt from Unconvention 2009 Report.

Pourquoi utiliser un fish eyes ? 

Tout d’abors, un fisheye est un objectif spécial ayant une distance focale très courte et donc un angle de champ très grand, jusqu’à 180° dans la diagonale, voire dans toute l’image.

Contrairement aux objectifs classiques, il n’est pas corrigé contre la distorsion et donne des images déformées : toutes les lignes droites qui ne passent pas par le centre sont fortement courbées. On ne peut retrouver les angles qu’en projetant l’image sur un écran sphérique.

If there’s one thing that I hope to achieve with my work, it’s to demonstrate how disappointingly misleading a title can truly be…

After reading about Movember I noticed two fine examples among my fellow commuters and present them here for your enjoyment. Sorry about the lack of bearded women, I do try but I can only work with what I’m given:

Thanks.

Tom

Correva l’anno 1986 ed Inghilterra dei giovinastri scapestrati si erano messi in testa di diventare la band più veloce del mondo.A vent’anni di distanza,gli allora adolescenti Napalm Death,hanno influenzato una miriade di band del panorama musicale odierno e sono definiti i padri fondatori del cosiddetto “Britcore”.

Sul loro primo album,”Scum“,(1987  d.C.)é presente la canzone più corta del mondo che mai sia stata registrata.Il titolo é “You suffer” ed é entrata nel Guinness dei primati dove detiene ancora il suo inattaccabile record.

Un aneddoto curioso riguarda il pezzo(il cui testo é:”You suffer,but why?”).John Peel,dj di BBC Radio 1 e vero precursore in radio di interesse per movimenti musicali underground,trasmise “You suffer” per la prima volta quattro o cinque volte consecutivamente facendo finta che la durata fosse un errore ma pienamente cosciente della realtà dei fatti.

Schiaccciate play e dedicate due secondi alla canzone più corta della storia.Com’é affascinante l’underground…

Chinese Star and model Ayi Jihu made history on when she became the first Chinese artist to perform at the London Week of Peace live concert in London’s Trafalgar Square. The LONDON WEEK OF PEACE (LWOP) is an annual week of high profile events, initiatives and action organised principally by communities and individuals but also engaging organisations, businesses and public agencies, to promote greater community cohesion, safety and peace across the capital. It will take place from the 20th – 27th of September 2009. Ending with a live concert that is broadcast all around the world featuring some of the worlds top artists.

Ayi Jihu made history when she was the first Chinese artist to be asked to perform as the LWOP recognized the growing impact the Chinese community has had in the great city of london and where looking to bring the usually closed Chinese London community into the celebrations.

Ayi Jihu represented all the Asian nations and crowned the historic event with a spectacular show that was broadcast worldwide to an audience of Millions. Ayi Jihu put on a multi-cultural show with kids of all ages from all over the world. She was also joined by Stevie Eagle E, Chinese opera singer Zane Zoo, Filipino Rapper Concept, Ghanian Rapper Fugitive and the Hypnotick Dance company. Ayi Jihu’s show more than any other captured the diverse nature of London’s many communities and highlighted that everyone can come together in peace in the great City.

Speaking about the show Ayi Jihu said she was honored and proud to be the first person to represent the Asian community at this event and hoped it would open the door to more Chinese and Asian performers being invited to high profile events in one of the worlds greatest cities.

I spoke to my team about the type of show I wanted to put on. I did not want to do something like everyone else, just go up there and sing a song. I wanted to give the people a show, and I wanted the show to be something that expressed all the different vibes, faces and cultures of London including Chinese. Stevie Eagle E loved my ideas and wanted to fuse different types of music together in one performance to make the most of my idea. So we came up with a show that had Rap, R&B, dance and opera in it. We had kids from all over the world over 10 countries performing in our set from white to black, girls and boys. We had street dance, contemporary dance, acrobatics and even ballet and we somehow fused it all together to create our show. It was a truly amazing experience and everyone enjoyed it. I think the best part was seeing the kids faces as they came of the stage and talking to them afterwards. I knew I was responsible for giving them an experience they would remember for the rest of their lives and it felt great.

I chose the track Winner – No Fear to perform because of the lyrics and what the song means. I wanted to perform something that was inspiring to the kids performing it and also to the audience and Winner – No Fear means a lot to me. It’s all about fighting our fears and lets face it, most violent crime in the streets is all about fear, Race hate and homophobia is about fear and ignorance. What people don’t understand they are afraid of and what they are afraid of they usually try to destroy, disrupt or at least ignore.

Everything in the show went almost perfect. I nearly fell over, I tripped on some cable on the stage. I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but every time I watch the video I see it and it makes me cringe. Other than that it was almost perfect.

Ayi jihu’s debut Album Try Me is available on Itunes and Amazon now.

Sheffield-themed festive gifts

Stuck for a Christmas gift ideas? This list collects together some of the most popular Sheffield-themed merchandise from the last few months.

• Pub maps
  

Explore the drinking dens of the city with this pub stops of Sheffield map by John Coates. It is designed in the style of the famous Henry Beck London underground tube map, which like a circuit diagram, focuses on the order of the locations instead of their exact geographic proximity. Available in mouse mat and poster versions, the designated coloured routes make for all sorts of interesting pub crawl variations. Or if you fancy an alternative pub crawl compass, then you could also try the heritage pub crawl map that you may have seen displayed in various local pubs.

Buy: Sheffield scene shop on Surrey street | zazzle.co.uk (for just the tube map)

Pub stops of Sheffield mouse mat and poster

Sheffield heritage pub crawl

• Something Hendo’s-inspired

Is there a better way to impress people when they come over for tea this Christmas than with some Hendo’s-themed memorabilia? There are plenty of options available to help celebrate the city’s favourite condiment: one litre bottles of relish, aprons, illustration prints from Jim Connolly and Kid Acne and if you really want to splash out, a limited-edition set of silver accessories. The final option is a very long-lasting Hendo’s-themed gift that a bride bought her groom as a wedding present…

Buy: Various locations | madeinsheffield.com | archipelago-art.co.uk | kateyfelton.com

Katey Felton's limited edition Henderson's relish silver accessories

• Sheffield illustrations

As well as the Hendo’s prints mentioned above, there are plenty of other local-themed illustrations available. Obviously Pete McKee is one of the most well known (don’t forget his Children’s hospital 2009 Christmas card) and Jim Connolly’s Sheffield superheros screen prints are also popular. The treasured Rare & racy shop on Devonshire street has various other prints, including Jonathan Wilkinson’s excellent We live here series of defining but less-celebrated Sheffield landmarks including the wedding cake, Park hill, the Roxy and the egg box.

Buy: Rare & racy | therealmckee.co.uk | archipelago-art.co.uk | welivehere.co.uk

• Charity voucher book

I’ve already written a post about this charity voucher book, but the premise is simple: spend £50 on a book of local vouchers that includes £1,000-worth of savings. And £15 from every one sold goes to charity. You won’t get round to using them all but after using three within the first month I had made my money back and of course have got a whole load more bargains to look forward to. Be quick though, as most of the vouchers expire in August 2010 so the longer you leave it the harder it will be to cram them in.

Buy: Shop on corner of Pinstone street and Cambridge street | charityunleashed.co.uk

Charity unleashed Sheffield voucher book shop

• Victorian map of Sheffield

People from Sheffield love old Sheffield stuff and this map shows the city in 1849 as ‘a pleasant and organised town…relatively spared the ravages of the early unplanned industrialisation’. One for the toilet door?

Buy: Cheapest from Sheffield scene shop on Surrey street | victoriantownmaps.co.uk

• Cooling towers memorabilia

The Cooling towers shop may have been and gone but the Tinsley towers still hold a dear place in the heart for many people and befittingly there are still plenty of souvenirs available by which to remember them. Why not start with this matt photo print from RPG Photo and also these mugs from artist/designer Alice Skelton?

Buy: rpgphoto.co.uk | aliceskelton.com

Cooling towers print from RPG Photography

• Pop books and shop books

There are a couple of Sheffield-related books with a nostalgic tinge that have been published in time for Christmas. Neil Anderson’s Take it to the Limit explores the late 70s and early 80s music scene through the eyes of the Limit nightclub, or Sheffield’s Hacienda as it was know by some. More pop music nostalgia can be found in artist Martin Bedford’s Up against the wall, a book collecting together some of his famous Leadmill posters that he produced to promote visiting bands in the 1980s and 1990s. And starkly contrasting with the city centre that we know today, the Shopaholics guide to 1970s Sheffield looks back to a time when town was the major shopping destination of the north.

Buy: Local bookshops | amazon.co.uk

Sheffield pop and shopping books

• I love Sheffield eco bag

Julia Gash bought this local variation of the I love New York design to Sheffield a couple of years ago. She was previously involved with the (now closed) Gash shop on Devonshire street but has since set up a business selling eco bags and the I love Sheffield one has been a huge hit, as you can guess from the frequency that you see them around town. They continue to be particularly popular with students and it looks like some variations on the original design are now available, too.

Buy: Various locations including the Sheffield university students’ union studio shop

• A piece of history
  

The crucible is due to reopen imminently and the theatre’s new carpet is apparently inspired by the distinctive 1970s design of the original. The theatre has been selling off pieces of the old carpet to raise money and at the last count a few of them were still available.

Buy: Sheffield theatres

The Crucible carpet: old (left) and new (right)

• Food discount card
  

The city may still be up-and-coming in the culinary stakes but progress is slowly being made and there are now some good places to eat out. Chef Richard Smith is the man behind many of the area’s more impressive restaurants and his relax, eat and drink privilage card could be just the gift for a foodie friend or loved one. You get £50-worth of restaurant vouchers, a £25 bottle of champagne, a free meal on your birthday, money off every other meal, free tea and coffees and more. At £100 it isn’t cheap, but when you remember that his restaurants include Artisan, the Cricket inn, the excellent-value Canteen and the imminent Spice market cafe on Ecclesall road, it won’t even take a meal out at each before you earn your money back.

Buy: relaxeatanddrink.com

Has anyone got any more present recommendations?

A local religious organization focusing its prayer efforts this year on sex trafficking here in South Dakota.

For some it may be hard to believe but they say the issue is a realistic problem in the Sioux Falls community.

Firehouse Underground sex trafficking d member Melissa Fletcher says, “I think in South Dakota we turn a blind eye to that, we don’t realize how much of that is actually happening in our community.”

The Firehouse Underground is staring the problem in the face.

Human trafficking.

Every Friday since January of this year the group has focused on praying to eliminate the issue that local authorities say is a county problem.

According to Minnehaha County Sheriff Michael Milstead, “In our most recent investigation it involved the sheriffs office, FBI, Department of Criminal Investigation, working in concert to solve one of these types of crimes.”

The sheriff says he knows the effort it takes to bring a human trafficking ring to justice.

“People don’t think that can happen in the U.S. but in fact it does and in fact we found it happens here in the midwest.”

Pastor Melissa Fletcher is from Del Rapids and attends services at the Underground regularly.

She believes in the power of prayer saying, “God calls us to look at what are the needs in our community, where does justice need to be served and we really need to be open to that.”

Services at the Underground Firehouse are every Friday at 8P.M. in downtown Sioux Falls.

source: http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/73184092.html

Orisue is a clothing company based out of Orange County, Ca, and after  being around for 3 years has developed into a much larger company than when it first started. As they have expanded in to a cut & sew brand and continue to push their screen printed tee’s they also have created a sponsored skateboard team that they stand strongly behind. With their recent post of the Orisue Nor-Cal Invasion we are motivated to one day be successful enough to one day compete and possibly join together for events to stand behind a lifestyle we support.

With that, here is the video of footage Orisue collected from their Nor-Cal Invasion. Enjoy.

When I first started subbing on youtube I didn’t know hardly anything about Korean music.  I started out with my first translation, Epik High’s “One” because the widespread translation at the time left room for a lot of misunderstanding.  After that I took requests and ended up doing mainstream stuff like Taeyang, some Big Bang and general love songs.  I also tackled Epik High’s album “Pieces, Part One” and eventually “Remapping the Human Soul” out of personal interest.  Taking requests for mainstream music worked out for the time because I had a whole lot to learn at first.

Translating mainstream, and even Epik High was an important time for me, like a stepping stone.  Soon I took on Nell’s albums and MC Sniper’s “How Bad Do You Want It”, and I have to say I am much more confident in my translations of them than my earlier Epik High translations.  Time took it’s course and I ended up finding the Korean music that I enjoyed the most, so I stopped taking requests.

Subbing isn’t a job for me, I did it because I enjoyed finding new songs and learning what they meant.  I also did it to improve my Korean,  out of love for the country, and out of a sense of responsibility to do something meaningful while careless white kids continually give Americans a bad name in Korea.

When I had found what I considered to be just about the summit of Korean music, translating lost its thrill.  It feels like I’m listening to the best of the best when I hear Nell’s and Drunken Tiger’s songs.  There are other songs I still enjoy listening to, for example Kebee- and I’ve been listening to a lot of underground on one of my subscriptions’ channels- but it’s gotten hard for me to feel that old thrill like I’m finding something new and great.

Besides being busy with school and my life, translating rap takes a considerable amount of time for me because I still do it in steps to make sure I catch most of my mistakes and to make sure I understand everything in context.  When I continue subbing, it will have to be out of feeling that same thrill that I felt at first.  The only place I can still feel that is from Drunken Tiger and underground music.