Oh my goodness, I just got my Macbook back from repairs. It is working! Finally! And I bought a new keyboard protector, and it feels so amazing to type. And I thought it would be a waste not to just post more things on my blog after being so deprived from it.
I thought one good thing I could make a list of, a new one, is one of my favourite new youtubers. These youtubers are not meant to surpass the ones I’ve always been following, and because they are new to me, doesn’t mean they are new at all, but just to put the new ones I’m following this year, and have fallen in love with, into the spotlight. (Not that they need it.) Oh, and I also wonder if I did start following some this year – a year is both long and incredibly short – but they are definitely youtubers I fell more and more in love with.
I feel like for a lot of these youtubers I’ve jumped on the bandwagon so so late. But I’ve just absolutely fallen in love with them. So, in no particular order:
1. Dodie Clarke, i.e. doddleoddle
Dodie just might be my spirit animal. Her voice is sooo beautiful, and when she is off on her little chats, I feel like grabbing a warm tea and just cozying up on the couch. She is just so relatable as a person to me and I can only wish her so much success on her path to pursuit more music and more happiness.
2. Carrie Hope Fletcher, i.e. ItsWayPastMyBedTime
Okay, I feel so behind the bandwagon for this one. But Carrie is sooo amazing! She’s so articulate and insightful and at the same time so so talented and cheery. She’s another British youtuber who I just fell in love with this year.
3. Alex Rainbird Playlists
And this last one is less of “youtuber” and more of an entire music channel that I’ve just loved. I’ve been collecting songs to create a playlist for my wedding dinner, and a lot of my songs came from Alex Rainbird’s monthly indie playlists. I would just play them while I have a shower, and just note down whenever I fell in love with one – which was honestly extremely difficult because I would love an entire string of them and I’d be like “CRAP I NEED TO LIST THEM ALL DOWN!” But it’s a happy problem.
Anywho, those are the three channels! They also feel like ones that will be staples on my subscribe list. (I usually recycle some yearly so I don’t go overboard with Youtube videos – if you’ve read my blog you’ll know how much Youtube I watch … it’s a proper addiction.)
Yup! Surprise! I think I’ve posted a total of four blog posts this year, and all of them have been so whiny (personally judging my past self’s emotional turmoil). But, it has been a busy year. There were a lot of first and lasts. But I knew, if anything, I had to continue with some of the wrap-ups of the year. If not for readers (if there are any still out there) then for myself.
One that I’ve been particularly consistent in is my list and ranking of the movies I’ve watched in and outside cinemas. So, here are the ones I’ve caught this year (starting from the last place I stopped last year, so technically Dec 2015 onwards) in the order I’ve watched them:
Surprisingly, I’ve watched around the same amount of movies this year as last year. As usual, I usually choose the ones to watch in cinemas either according to their Rotten Tomato ratings, personal preference and, sometimes, I’m roped in to watch a few.
And here are my ratings for them:
Train to Busan
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
10 Cloverfield Lane
Zootopia
Deadpool
Moana
Finding Dory
Kung Fu Panda 3
X-Men: Apocalypse
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Doctor Strange
Captain America: Civil War
Star Trek Beyond
Apprentice
Ghostbusters
Me Before You
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
To be honest, all the ones around no. 4 to 13 have about the same ranking to me. And honestly, none of them are that terrible – except for no. 15 and no. 16 (both of which I personally hate with a passion due to very different reasons – and which I know have very polarising audience opinions). Be reminded that the way I rank movies is entirely subjective. Some things I factor in include: the experience, whether I’d watch it again, whether it moves away from cliches.
I also didn’t expect that the no. 1 movie I would love so much would be a Korean zombie movie. But hey, the best movies don’t follow the most obvious tropes!
Stay tuned for my ranking of movies outside the cinema next week! (Hopefully next week!) As well as some other yearly round-ups.
Till next time!
cumuloq ❤
Edited: Added Deadpool because I completely missed out on it.
Happy New Year! It’s finally 2016, and I have a really good feeling about this year. I have yet to make any concrete plans or resolutions, but I have a nervous excited energy about this year. But, before we go on and prepare for all our plans, let me take a quick look back at all the games I’ve loved last year.
Now, personally, I’m not the type to play many games on my own. Mostly cause I suffer from Player 2 syndrome – which I personally classify as a co-op, safer, perfectionist kind of attitude when it comes to gaming. I’m also kind of a backseat driver kind of player. I like to watch other people do things before I give it a go myself so I can assess what can probably be done better. So, a lot of the games I do end up playing on my own have the tendency to be low-risk, creative games. So this list has nothing to do with games I play on my own, and more to do with games that I loved to watch and fell in love with watching.
Yup, Town of Salem is still a favourite from 2014 – which seems apparent from my most recent, previous post. But it definitely has slipped a couple of notches in my favourite list. Mostly because the servers nowadays are overrun by either people who understand the game enough for each game to be too straightforward, or trolls who are completely trying to ruin the gameplay, or flakes that leave immediately when the game starts leaving either the town or mafia vulnerable.
Favourite Youtubers for this: ChilledChaos, ZeRoyalViking
9. Mario Kart 8
Racing | Nintendo EAD Group No. 1 | Nintendo
It is the fact that it went up to 200cc and that there are amazing new courses and characters that were added into the gameplay that keeps Mario Kart 8 on my list of favourites. 200cc definitely added to the salt that was already accumulating in the videos of the Derp Crew. Plus, I just love the Big Blue course (final course of Bell Cup). It is a thing of beauty.
Favourite Youtubers for this: TomFawkes, GaLm, ChilledChaos, YOGCAST Kim
8. Depth
FPS action | Digital Confectioners | Microsoft Windows
Humans vs. Sharks! Depth is another one that was created in 2014, but became a lot more complex and interesting in 2015 with new maps and new game modes and new sharks.
Favourite Youtubers for this: Ohmwrecker, H2ODelirious, GassyMexican
7. Life is Strange
Episodic graphic adventure | Dontnod Entertainment | Square Enix
A girl who discovers she can turn back time. I kind of expected Life is Strange to be my new To the Moon – but it didn’t really have the same oof to it. There were parts of it that seemed like a generic teen narrative – and then there were some really strong episodes like ‘Out of Time’ (Chapter 2) and ‘Dark Room’ (Chapter 4). So it still makes it in my list because of those unforgettable moments that really took up chunks of my 2015. Plus, spending quality time watching an LP I loved from YOGCAST Kim made it so much more rewarding. I honestly hated all other LPs of it. Kim made choices I would have made.
Favourite Youtubers for this: YOGCAST Kim
6. Until Dawn
Interactive drama, survival horror | Supermassive Games | Sony Computer Entertainment
Eight teenagers in a cabin – with something after them. Try to help them survive with the help of the butterfly effect totems. I remember the first time seeing this game I stumbled halfway into a livestream of it on Chilled’s channel. I thought the “Don’t Move” feature of the game, using the motion controls of the PS4 to be amazing – and also I knew that if I ever ended up trying to play this game I would fail miserably because of my naturally shaky hands. So I proceeded to watch every other youtuber do well – or really really horribly – through this game. And honestly the reactions were some of the best parts of my 2015 youtube gaming experience. And I have this game to thank for it.
Favourite Youtubers for this: ChilledChaos, Markiplier, Achievement Hunters
5. Don’t Starve Together / Don’t Starve Shipwrecked
Action-adventure | Klei entertainment
I kind of cheated and put the two together, but they are all under the same game, i.e. Don’t Starve. While I have been watching Don’t Starve for a while now, it is only most recently that I’ve found the right Youtubers and that the new updates make for much more challenging and engaging gameplay. I love the artwork of this game so much and all the small quirks. I so want a beefalo plushie or a chester plushie. Everything in this game just screams out to me.
Favourite Youtubers for this: MathasGames, GassyMexican, OhmWrecker
4. Rocket League
Sports | Psyonix
Okay, it may seem really crazy, but this game is incredibly addictive to watch and, having watched too much of this, I get way too into it. On the surface it seems like just a game of cars playing soccer, but it is so incredibly well-made with slow-mo goals and speed boosters. I think the two friends I suggested this game to immediately became hooked on it for how great it is. Just for the sheer pleasure it brings, it definitely deserves to be high up on my list.
Favourite Youtubers for this: Ohmwrecker, Chilledchaos
3. Undertale
Role-playing | toby fox
What first appealed to me for this game is that you can choose to either fight or talk your way out of a fight – and that all choices you make, the game remembers. At first, I thought that was all the game had going for it, but it really surprised me how much I loved it. It sort of breaks the fourth wall at many points within the game and really pulls the finger of the RPG genre. Because of how original and unique it is, it definitely will be remember as one of my favourites this year.
Favourite Youtubers of this: Game Grumps (Barry and Ross)
2. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Puzzle | Steel Crate Games
When I first saw this game being played by Ross, Arin and Barry on Steam Train, I absolutely fell in love with the concept immediately. Basically one of the players will be playing the game (you can even use the oculus rift) and the other friends all have a bomb defusal manual to help that person defuse the bomb. Neither can look at what the other one is doing and they need to rely on one another to get the bomb defused. There are different levels and they get progressively harder, either by increasing the manuals you need to do, the types of manuals or simply just by reducing the timer. Because of how creative the concept is and how impressive it is to watch a person defuse a bomb, I absolutely count it as a really high favourite in 2015. I’m also impartial to puzzle games. It also means I have to be incredibly subjective as to who I watch play this game – because sheer stupidity can be a huge wet blanket. But then again, some people watch it just to see people be stupid.
Favourite Youtubers for this: LtHummus, Game Grumps, Ohmwrecker
1. Splatoon
Third-person shooter, platformer | Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 | Nintendo
And my favourite this year is Splatoon! You’re a kid/squid in a post-apocalyptic world where you’ve entered the Squid Wars, teams battling each other for ink territory. I fell in love with music of this game, the entire game play of it, the lovely art. I also thought it was a wonderful idea for a third-person shooter. Incredibly dynamic – except when there was incredible amounts of lag. So I salute Splatoon as no. 1 in my heart for 2015!
Favourite Youtubers for this: GaLm
So those are my favourites for 2015! It was a good year of Let’s Plays and gaming, especially since I made a concerted and conscious effort to record all of my favourites down. One of my plans this year is definitely to continue doing this. 2015 was definitely a year of progress in my love for video games. I personally managed to complete Portal 2, three chapters of The Walking Dead, Game Dev Tycoon and, as usual, play way too much Sims 3 (I refuse to play the newest version). I hope 2016 I can continued this investment into a nerdy part of me I just refuse to give up – but at the same time I want to be able to negotiate it with my love for books, movies and tv shows as well. So I’m still trying to find a middling ground.
Once again, happy new year! Hope you are all healthy and loved.
So indulge me here while I make a list of my top 10 favourite Town of Salem games this year. I made a steadfast effort this year to save all my favourite Let’s Plays into a playlist on Youtube and definitely one of my favourite series has to be the Derp Crew playing Town of Salem.
All of this being said, here is the countdown to my favourite episode of them playing it. I’m not going to describe any of what happens. Discovering the roles and what happens in the end is the best part after all. Plus, when I go back and watch this I want to be surprised all over again.
10. Grandma The GodFather (The Derp Crew: Town of Salem – Part 59)
9. MIND BLOWN: The Plot Twists! (The Derp Crew: Town of Salem – Part 29)
8. Pokemon Murder Theme! (The Derp Crew: Town of Salem – Part 86)
7. PART 100 SPECIAL!(The Derp Crew: Town of Salem – Part 100)
Note: Referring to the first game only (0:00 – 20:48)
6. MY BEST GAME! (The Derp Crew: Town of Salem – Part 37)
5. THE TRANSPORTER GOD! (Town of Salem QUAD FACECAM w/ The Derp Crew Ep. 29)
Well, that’s all from me! Hope to come back to these videos next year and watch them all over again. And, while this list is mostly for my amusement, if you end up watching all of the episodes, do let me know which one you would consider your favourite. 🙂
So this is another album that I just fell in love with in 2015, even though it came out in 2014: Whispers by Passenger. This indie pop/folk album is as much love as the previous two albums that I’ve mentioned, and it really doesn’t disappoint in terms of lyrics and melody. Passenger continues to be just amazing in terms of both songwriting and vocals. Mike’s voice is just so uniquely soothing and heartbreaking.
This is the perfect album to listen to when sitting in a coffeeshop trying to contemplate where you’re going to head next in your life, or backpacking in the Europe countryside, trying to find yourself. It’s better to think of this album as one collective set of journeys and stories than to separate individual songs, better to blur them together into one painting, but that’s my suggestion.
However, here’s my usual ranking of the songs, favourite verses included once more, so you can choose which one strikes you more:
11. Start A Fire
My cliff face is crumbling
Silently tumbling
Down to the water below
And if I light a match I’ll be able to catch
The last sun before it goes
10. Riding To New York
Through the fields of Ohio as the sunshine paints them gold.
I run just like a river runs, rapid, quick and cold.
9. Bullets
He’s been collecting since the age of nine
Every shiny bullet that he could find
Built himself a house with the wooden floors
Put the shiny bullets in a chest of drawers
8. Thunder
Hey I go chasing thunder
Go dancing under
Go falling free
Hey I go running in circles
Like baby turtles
Down to the sea
Down to the sea
7. Rolling Stone
Sometimes I feel like I’m falling
Falling fast and falling free
She said my darling you’re not falling
Always looked like you were flying to me
6. Golden Leaves
Now my dear we are two golden leaves
Clinging desperately to winter trees
Got up here like a pair of thieves
While the sirens blare outside
5. Coins in A Fountain
There’s a sad old sea but my love is an island
Wild and free like the hills in the highlands
Hope is a breeze that brings me back to dry land
Where the flowers grow
4. Whispers
Well I spent my money, I lost my friends, I broke my mobile phone,
3 a.m. and I’m drunk as hell, and I’m dancing on my own,
Taxi-cabs ain’t stopping, and I don’t know my way home,
Well it’s hard to find a reason, when all you have is doubts,
Hard to see inside yourself when can’t see your way out,
Hard to find an answer when the question won’t come out …
3. Scare Away The Dark
Well, we wish we were happier, thinner and fitter,
We wish we weren’t losers and liars and quitters
We want something more not just nasty and bitter
We want something real not just hash tags and Twitter
2. 27
27 birthdays, 27 new years
30,000 quid, just so I could have a few beers
Ever dying old hopes, ever growing new fears
Don’t know where I’m going, but I know how I got here
1. Heart’s On Fire
Well I don’t know where and I don’t know when
But I know we’ll be lovers again
I’ll see you some day before the end
I don’t know where and I don’t know when
For me, “27” and “Scare Away The Dark” seem to be echoes of one another, but not necessarily thesis and anti-thesis; they seem to be both angry-happy-sadness at what has passed and how we should be living our lives. Meanwhile “Bullets” and “Riding To New York” are clear narrative-based songs that tell stories of people who seem to have lost everything except something small they cling desperately to that keep them going.
Anywho, if you want to listen to the full album, Passenger nicely has it all up on their Youtube channel. So you can check it out here. Another album you should check out, and that I have yet to get myself acquainted to is “Whispers 2”, which is here. This one came out this year – but apparently I’m a year slow for all most of my albums.
Back with another album I absolutely fell in love with in 2015: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. I say this because the album for today is a bit of a cheatsy-doodles. It came out in August 12, 2014. But I only discovered it this year and fell in love with all the songs. Like literally all of them. I had to stop myself from inserting it into every freaking one of my Youtube playlists. I feel it warrants being in this overview of my favourite albums of 2015.
If you’ve never heard of Andrew McMahon, maybe you’ve heard of Jack’s Mannequin or maybe Something Corporate, all punk-rock bands from the 90s and 20s. He was the lead singer for those bands, and this is his wonderful indie pop baby post-punk-rock-band-days. These songs are perfect to listen to while travelling – on a train, on a bus, in a car, on a plane. The lyrics are just filled with images of long car rides, looking out of the window, missing loved ones and wonderful barren scenery.
The first song I heard off this album was “Cecilia and the Satellite” and I listened to every single version of the song over and over again. I then went to check out more of the songs in the album and loved all of them just as much.
Here’s the ranking of the songs in the album, favourite lines and verses included:
10. Canyon Moon
She couldn’t handle another season
Another ocean of fiction blue
Said a prayer to a dashboard Jesus
Death Valley and worn out shoes
9. Driving Through a Dream
Straighter than the flat line freeway
That’s the way your hair falls down
We could watch the trains from the tightrope
Chase the dark
8. Rainy Girl
The sun is coming up for me
Blackbird on a wire sings a song
So blue
7. Halls
When I left town we were heading for the altar
And I told you I’d be back before too long
Cut my hair and I found me a new girlfriend
Thought a broken heart could write a perfect song
And it did and I was right so now you’re gone
6. Black and White Movies
As the summer came and left with the rain
Pushing shadows down the road
In this old beach town when the sun goes down
All the gray turns into gold
5. High Dive
Headlight in the driveway
You stand in the window waiting
The stars are out tonight
One million fires burning
Out there on the high dive
You dance with your headphones on
And I could watch you all night long
Dancing to someone else’s song
4. See Her on The Weekend
And I’m alright, I think we’re good
Yeah, I drink more than the doctors say I should
I’ve been a little hard to reach, but my girl is at the beach
And I’ll see her on the weekend
3. Maps for the Getaway
Following the outline of your face
I can see your breath move in the dark
Through all the autopilot years
The tears of joy, the face of fear
Now that we’re not hiding
Somehow you’re still riding in my car
2. All Our Lives
I thought “If I could tell her something I would tell her this
There’s only two mistakes that I have made
It’s running from the people who could love me best
And trying to fix a world that I can’t change.”
1. Cecilia and the Satellite
Through all the things my eyes have seen
The best by far is you
As mentioned, all the lyrics are just beautiful. I guess that’s a definite criteria for me for a good album, just something with so much meaning in every line. Honestly I feel like every song in this album is almost on par with one another. Whereas Fall Out Boy’s album I could easily divide the songs I could love forever and the songs that I’m not that fond of, this album has every song fighting for attention. Even when ranking them, one particular song, “Hall”, just stood out as something special. I have a feeling that if I listened to this album just a couple more times that song will just crawl up to first and beg for attention.
If you want to listen to the full album, you can listen to it on Youtube here (though I’m not sure for how long, ’cause it’s not an official link).
Honestly, so ridiculously in love with this album and I hope you fall in love with it too if you already haven’t.
I know, it’s surprising. I haven’t been blogging for about two months and now I’ve posted six days straight. Maybe consider this my version of Vlogmas – just without video, and less Christmas-related and more of a review of different things this year.
So, on 25 April 2014 I made a list of my favourite female beauty gurus on youtube and I realise that a lot has changed from that list since then. Therefore, I present to you an updated list of the female beauty vloggers I watch and love watching currently:
Wengie is an Asian beauty vlogger from Australia and she’s most well known for her comparison make-up videos like the one above. I’ve recently moved away from Western foundation as my face base to Asian CC creams and it’s always interesting to see how the formulas are different, so her vids are really informative.
I can’t really remember how I found Suzie, but I really have been watching a lot of her videos because she is really personable and friendly. I’m more of a fan of her make-up videos, like the one above as opposed to her fashion hauls. Her style isn’t really up my alley, but I could watch her make-up tutorials forever. Plus she is so beautiful.
Yup, Zoe still stays on my list! I feel like she is a staple, especially when it’s currently Vlogmas and I squeal in the middle of the night whenever I see her new video is out. She’s just so bubbly and every single video is just bottled-up happiness. So yeah, Zoe. I love to watch all her videos really – plus her second channel videos. Actually, I like her second channel videos more for some reason. They’re wonderful to just play in the background while I’m doing other things.
Okay, Poppy is love. Poppy is so much love when it comes to beauty vlogging. I feel like she’s always on-point with all her choices when it comes to technique, make-up brands, camera angles and make-up hauls. Of course, it absolutely helps that she has such flawless skin; every single foundation, highlighter, bronzer and blush just looks amazing on her.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Tanya Burr – outside of her makeup tutorials. But if there is one thing that Tanya does amazingly it is to create makeup looks that are just breathtaking and so precise. So I would definitely put her in my number one list for beauty Youtubers.
Again, like last time, if you know anyone like these girls, let me know. Other than that I hope you yourself have discovered some wonderful new vloggers.
It’s been a real long while since I’ve actually written anything specific for my “Thursday: my soundtrack” category. But since this is December and I am doing a round-up of things here and there, let me just share some of my favourite albums from this year.
I think ever since the extinction of cassette tapes and CDs, I haven’t actually been listening to artists according to their albums anymore, which is a shame cause that’s where I usually find my favourite songs – not from their breakout singles but from one of their other tracks. I have the habit of falling in love with the second last or last song in an album. Don’t ask me why, but I do.
For Fall Out Boy’s new album “American Beauty / American Psycho”, I just had to listen to the entire album – especially since they released the songs one after the other one night on Youtube and the lyrics were just so sharp and the melodies so catchy. Fall Out Boy has definitely solidified their place as such reliably amazing album churners.
So here’s my ranking of their songs off the album:
11. Fourth of July
10. American Beauty / American Psycho
9. Uma Thurman
8. Novocaine
7. Favourite Record
6. Irresistible
5. Centuries
4. Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC)
3. Immortals
2. Jet Pack Blues
1. The Kids Aren’t Alright
Honestly, I think number 6, “Irresistible”, onwards are just absolutely solid tracks that I would listen to again and again. “The Kids Aren’t Alright” and “Jet Pack Blues” are amazing emotional pop-rock ballads and “Immortals”, “Twin Skeleton’s” and “Centuries” are fist-pumping rock finishers that I’d be happy to dance to at the beginning or the end of a concert. And I won’t discount the rest either, ’cause if there’s anything I’ve learnt from Fall Out Boy albums, the more I listen to them, the more those forgotten tracks slowly crawl up to favourite status and the more the most immediately loved ones fall behind … or should I say out? Get it? Okay, I’ll stop.
So if the last blog post I made was after a long break, this one is even longer. The last time I wrote here was probably three months ago – three very very busy yet important and fulfilling months. So, I thought a good first post after the break would be something light and non-committal on my end. Less of what has been happening with me, and more of a documentation of a particularly aspect of my life.
Getting into make-up for me was a very late exploration. Although I was exposed to make-up early on because I’ve had to wear it for school performances (plays, dances, musicals what have you), it was always my mum doing the make-up for me. And usually whatever make-up was lying around the house was usually (extremely) expired.
So the first time I had to try and understand the various ins-and-outs of the cosmetic world was when I was going for job interviews after uni. Actually, uni was a very good time for me to experiment. I stayed in the uni halls so it meant that I could buy a whole bunch of products to test out in my room without parents judging or yelling at me for buying them. At first my experiments would be limited to buying mostly Maybelline products. They were a cheap and reliable source – most of the time. I learnt fast that their lipsticks weren’t that awesome.
But I think after four years of experimenting with different brands I have solidified a pretty satisfying collection. This is what I wear on a normal workday:
So usually I will ensure that I get 1-7 down. On lazier days I only go up to 5 or 6. I usually never do 8 and 9, except on special occasions or weekends. I remember there was a time where I was wearing eyeliner almost every day.
Lastly, let me know which products you stick to. I know there are a whole bunch more that I have yet to try out. I watch beauty vloggers a lot and all the products they name just whiz by my head most of the time. I know I’m still not entirely satisfied with my blush and mascara. But I really love the CC cream and eyeliner I use. If you want me to review an individual product on this list, let me know as well.
So I just woke up from two naps – in a row – as I am typing this (on the day I am posting this). Today I have just been drained of energy and I’ve just been putting off doing this post. I am also extremely distracted, ’cause I am watching Zoella’s vlog simultaneously – though I realise that I am not good at multitasking when I’ve just woken up. A sneaky behind-the-scenes shot for you:
You can also see that I’m reluctant to change to the new WordPress layout. I switched it to the new one, was utterly confused, and changed back.
Anyway, enough of my situation, more of the 30 Day Song Challenge. Let me start by reminding you guys to check over at Rhey of Sunshine for her side of the challenge. We’re doing it simultaneously so you get the best of both worlds. So if you feel like my style of music is not for you – which is perfectly okay – you can go over to her side and check out the songs she chooses!
So today’s challenge is a song I would play at my wedding. To be honest I really haven’t thought too much about it, i.e. what I would want at my wedding. I feel like my list of things I don’t want is a lot longer than a list of things I want. For instance, I don’t want corny, I don’t want cliche, I don’t want a lot of glitter and gold and glitz. I definitely do not want Bruno Mars’s “Marry You” to be playing there.
If there is anything I have thought through a lot, it’s the songs I want at my wedding. Because somehow I feel – maybe as a literature major – that the words in lyrics are incredibly important to convey the type of marriage that you want with someone else.
So, as usual, I am not one to choose just one song, here is a list (from a playlist of my own) of songs I would approve at my wedding:
Endlessly by The Cab
I think my favourite verse from this song is this one:
There’s a house on the hill,
with a view of the town,
and I know how you adore it.
So I’ll work everyday,
through the sun, and the rain,
until I can afford it.
What I like about this song is that it stresses on hard work. And that it takes hard work to make something worthwhile. I also love the energy behind it. Maybe it’s just me, but a lot of songs at wedding receptions just make me feel like falling asleep. Yes, those songs are important – the ones with the slower melodies, but I need the playlist to start off with something that tells stories and have some vivacity.
With You by TryHardNinja and Lindee Link
Again, another lighthearted and amusing song that stresses on pressing on together. And, yes, there are Minecraft references in this one because it just so happens to be from TryHardNinja. But I feel like they are subtle enough to be overlooked.
Photograph by Ed Sheeran
Mellowing down a bit now – I think when people think of Ed Sheeran and wedding songs lately, the song that comes up is “Thinking Out Loud”. Agreed it is a beautiful song for a wedding, but somehow I am more drawn to this one. Maybe it’s in the lyrics again. “Thinking Out Loud” has lyrics that are about expressing love outwards – showing it: “Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars” but “Photograph” is inwards, “Inside the pages you just hold me”. And again, I stress that lyrics are the ones guiding me into choosing these songs.
Faithfully Cover by Boyce Avenue
And lastly, this one. Yes it’s a slow song – but it just has to be in here because it’s our song. ❤
So, that’s a little preview in the playlist that I have accumulated over the past few years. The other songs are along the lines of this, e.g. “Honeydukes” by Joey Richter and Mary Kate Wiles, “Bright” by Echosmith, “Ours” by Taylor Swift, “Bring Me the Night” by Sam Tsui and Kina Grannis. And there are also a few slow songs in the mix, which include “A Thousand Years Pt 2” by Christina Perri ft. Steve Kazee and “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain.
But I feel like if I put it all in then this will be a very long blog post.
So that’s all the happy songs for today! Tomorrow will be the absolute opposite – a song I would like to play at my funeral *knock on wood*. Come back tomorrow for that!
So we move on to day 8 of the 30 Day Song Challenge. Today is ‘favourite album’ (duh, it’s in the title). This one was honestly disgustingly hard to choose from, mostly because different albums suit me for different moods.
Ones that went in the list of possible choices included Green Day’s narrative concept album, American Idiot, the first album I got from my favourite band, Ocean Avenue, heck, even Hilary Duff’s self-titled album which was something I listened to non-stop when I was a teenager and is wildly underrated (in my opinion), and several other pop rock related albums. I give them their due reference here (Mmhmm by Relient K, Nothing is Sound by Switchfoot, Enema of the State by blink182, The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, Louder Now by Taking Back Sunday).
Why this album? Firstly, I’ve listened to a lot of albums in my teenage years. A lot. Because it was just so easy and cheap to buy. I have a lot of cassette versions of bands and artists just wasting away with dust now. And, out of all the albums I’ve listened to, From Under the Cork Tree is just one of the most well-rounded albums. There is commitment throughout the album at the type of style it seeks to be. Each song, yes, is an individual song, but when put together they create a complete whole. And I feel like this is what an album should be like. It’s an incredible anthem of what it feels like being a teenager lost and confused about their lives and love.
I also feel that it is incredibly underrated because of the time it came out. There were just a lot of pop punk bands during that time. And I admit that I cheated on a lot of bands. But if this album were released today, I bet it would have gotten the critical reception it deserved.
Pete Wentz’s lyrics on every song is incredible. Let me spam them here. I can list off lines from each of their songs and you’d think that it came from a contemporary poet. Heck, even the song titles are brilliant:
1.
Brothers and sisters, yeah, put these words down
Into your notebook (spit lines like these)
We’re friends when you’re on your knees
Make them dance like we were shooting their feet – “Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued”
2.
Sometimes I just want to know what it’s like to be you
We’re making out inside crashed cars
We’re sleeping through all our memories
I used to waste my time dreaming of being alive (now I only waste it dreaming of you) – “Of All the Gin Jounts in All the World”
3.
She says she’s no good with words but I’m worse
Barely stuttered out “A joke of a romantic”, or just stuck to my tongue
Weighed down with words too over-dramatic
Tonight it’s “It can’t get much worse”
Vs. “No one should ever feel like…” – “Dance, Dance”
4.
I’ve been dying to tell you anything you want to hear
Cause that’s just who I am this week
Lie in the grass, next to the mausoleum
I’m just a notch in your bedpost
But you’re just a line in a song – “Sugar, We’re Goin Down”
5.
So wear me like a locket around your throat.
I’ll weigh you down.
I’ll watch you choke.
You look so good in blue. – “Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner”
6.
Joke me something awful just like kisses on the necks of “best friends”
We’re the kids who feel like dead ends
And I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses
I took a shot and didn’t even come close
At trust and love and hope
And the poets are just kids who didn’t make it
Who never had it at all – “I’ve Got A Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)”
7.
I’m sleeping my way out of this one
With anyone who will lie down
I’ll be stuck fixated on one star
When the world is crashing down – “7 Minutes in Heaven (Ataven Halen)”
8.
We’re traveled like gypsies
Only with worse luck and far less gold
We’re the kids you used to love
But then we grew old
We’re the lifers here till the bitter end
Condemned from the start
Ashamed of the way
The songs and the words own the beating of our hearts – “Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year”
9.
They say, “You want a war? You’ve got a war.”
But who are you fighting for?
The tides out, the ship’s run aground
We drown traitors in shallow water – “Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends”
10.
They call kids like us vicious and carved out of stone
But for what we’ve become, we just feel more alone
Always weigh what I’ve lost against what I left
Progress report: I am missing you to death – “”I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me”
11.
Write me off, give up on me
‘Cause darling, what did you expect?
I’m just off a lost cause
A long shot, don’t even take this bet
You can make all the moves, you can aim all the spotlights
Get all the sighs and the moans just right – “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me'”
12.
From day one I talked about getting out
But not forgetting about
How my worst fears are letting out
He said why put a new address
On the same old loneliness
When breathing just passes the time – “Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows)”
13.
To the “love”, I left my conscience pressed
Between the pages of the Bible in the drawer
“What did it ever do for me” I say
It never calls me when I’m down
Love never wanted me – “XO”
And I think after writing this post, I’ve listened to this album on repeat thrice. It’s just so good! Gah. My favourite songs from this album would probably include track 6 “I’ve Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea …”, track 8 “Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year”, track 11 “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me'”, and track 12 “Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying …”. I mean, come on, they made a vampire video practically before vampires became cool. And it has Panic At the Disco and The Academy Is … in it.
And, the icing on the cake, just like how I got to watch my favourite band live, I got to see Fall Out Boy perform the songs from this album live to – my second favourite concert ever. All the songs are just electrifying in concert. All of them.
Last but not least, head over to Rhey of Sunshine’s blog to see her favourite album. I’ll see you guys tomorrow where I share with you the gig or act I want to see live.
I hope you’re having a lovely start to your weekend. For me, it’s a much needed reprieve. I realise that the 30 Day Song Challenge can be pronounced as ‘disc’ in acronym form and that’s music related – just a random passing thought. So today’s challenge is my favourite band.
Unlike a lot of changing music taste I’ve had, I’ve pretty much had the same favourite band since I was 13: Yellowcard. The first song I ever heard from them is their well-known love pop rock ballad “Only One” (this is me walking down memory lane now).
I think it’s because of this video that I went into my tank top, 3/4 pants and wedges phase. I only listened to this song – and possibly “Ocean Avenue” – and I just went down to my local music store and bought the cassette of Ocean Avenue. Yes, cassette, back when there were cassettes to be bought. I think it cost about $6 to get. And I listened to every song in that album, memorised all the lyrics (more than I memorised my chemistry notes) and would write it down again and again.
My instant favourites from that album were “Believe”, “View From Heaven” and “One Year Six Months”. Close favourites were “Empty Apartment” and “Back Home”. It was probably because of this album that I desperately wanted to experience being twenty-three – just because there was a song named after that age.
Over the years their style just began to feel like music home – sanctuary. Ryan Key’s vocals were just so singular to me – it stood apart from any other band I listened to. And Sean’s violin solos were the icing on the cake. I learnt violin when I was young and I only saw it as a classical instrument. But Sean made the instrument feel like so much more. Plus, when Longineu Parsons was still the drummer, he was such a beast at it. I remembered watching TRL (I feel so old now) and watching him do his drum solos. My brother just aspired to be as good as him.
Honestly, I grew up with the albums. And I can relate so many of the songs to memories in my life. I can tell you that from the Lights and Sounds album, “How I Go” still reminds me of Big Fishand is probably one of my favourite Yellowcard songs of all time – there is a close contender that I’ll share later.
I can also say that I was so devastated when I heard that they went on hiatus in 2008. Around that time I remembered a lot of bands were going on hiatus – ones that never actually got back together in the end – and I feared that this would be the case of my favourite band, a band I had never got to see live yet and that I potentially would never get to see live.
So when I heard of their reunion in 2010 and that a new album was due to be released in 2011, I remember that moment as clear as day. I was part of their subscribers on their official website and got the announcement in my e-mail. I went onto their website and read and reread the news. It was like a dream. And, that was when “When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes” came out. And that was when my other favourite song came out “Sing For Me”.
It was September 2012 when I got to finally see them perform live. And it was when they performed this song above that it really hit me that I was listening to them. Their songs had carried me through my entire pubescent stage, through uncontrollable anger and sadness, and countless studying nights. I was there in the crowd and I was thinking of how amazing it was that maybe a few years ago I didn’t think being present at that point in time, being alive, would be something possible for me.
The pre-chorus and chorus for “Sing for Me” go:
I wish I had known
The future in my heart
Was just about to start
Say tomorrow, I can follow you there
Just close your eyes and sing for me
I will hear you, always near you
And I’ll give you the words, just sing for me
And when I was in the crowd, and singing along, and listening to these lyrics. I realised how true it was that this band had been with me for so long and how much, even though they had no idea of it, they had touched my life and encouraged me to keep going.
When my best friend, Rhey of Sunshine, gave me the gift of listening to them for a second time, in VIP no less, I felt so privileged. There was a point in time when I thought I could never be there in a crowd seeing them live. But now I can say I’ve heard them twice. And live they are just as amazing. And the most amazing moment of their concerts is the encore where they always go back to their roots, “Ocean Avenue”. The electric in the crowd is always so amazing. ‘Cause it’s like we all, everyone in the crowd, are transported back to the moment when they first fell in love with that band. We were transported more than ten years back, to 2003.
Wow, music really can be a time machine.
So … I leave you with another amazing Yellowcard song, “Make Me So”. Personally, it’s hard to choose which songs are more amazing from their latest album, Lift a Sail. I really really like a lot of them (why shouldn’t I, their my favourite band after all).
Lastly, I just want to say it here that I’m so thankful for this band. Honestly. I really am. Sometimes there are bands that you listen randomly to and go “I like this” or “they sound cool” and you listen to them fleetingly here and there. And then, there are those bands that literally just stick. You can’t choose a favourite song because everything is good to you. You don’t just want to listen to their songs, you want to listen to their stories, the meaning behind their songs. You want to be part of their family. Yellowcard has been sort of like my family when I was at my lowest points. I knew a song for every mood. I knew that when I needed to be encouraged I could choose “Believe”, when I felt aimless I could pick “Space Travel”, when I wanted just instrumental I could choose “Three Flights Up”, when I was in love I could choose “MSK” or “California” – everything was just there in my music library. Yellowcard made my brother and I closer. They made me want to visit California – long for places I had never been to. They made me want to keep going. And for all of this, I say thank you to them.
Yes, I’m getting emotional and personal here, because they really have touched my life in such a significant way. That’s why they are my favourite band, and always will be.
Lastly, please check out Rhey of Sunshine’s blog for her favourite band. And I will catch you tomorrow as I share with you my favourite album.
Ready for another one? So today’s day 6, almost a week in, and today’s challenge is my favourite female artist. When it comes to female singers I’m a bit more mainstream.
I actually have quite a number of favourite singers and all for different reasons. There are those who I think are just amazing vocalists like Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Lea Michele and Jacquie Lee. Then there are those who are so talented in songwriting like Taylor Swift.
But – out of all of them – I feel like this one just has a soft spot in my heart. Because I grew up listening to her back in Australia, and I felt so heartbroken when I read in the magazines that she was diagnosed with cancer, and I feel like, after everything she’s been through, she still has such a distinctly unique voice.
So my favourite artist is Delta Goodrem. And here are a few of her classics from her first album that I fell in love with …
Lost Without You
Born to Try
Not Me, Not I
So, once again, check out Rhey of Sunshine for her favourite female artist. And I’ll join you tomorrow to share with you my ultimate favourite band of all time! Yes. This one is a clear winner.
I realise I usually never post anything related to music on Thursdays – even though I have an entire day reserved for it. So today I thought I’d go ahead and rank my favourite songs off of Taylor Swift’s Deluxe Album “1989”. So here they are:
16. Wonderland
15. Wildest Dreams
14. Shake It Off
13. Bad Blood
12. New Romantics
11. How You Get the Girl
10. I Know Places
9. Style
8. Welcome to New York
7. I Wish You Would
6. Out of the Woods
5. Blank Space
4. You Are In Love
3. All You Had to Do Was Stay
2. This Love
1. Clean
“This Love” kind of slowly crawled its way up as a favourite and took me by surprise. It’s just soothing to listen to on the bus ride at 9pm to my hall dorm. “You Are In Love” is more experimental is better in a quiet room where you can really think of the negative spaces in the song (can negative spaces apply to music? I just did ..)
I think I’ve spent a good portion of my time this weekend scavenging my Youtube favourites and likes for my favourite moments of 2014. This list will be the funniest Youtube Gaming moments of 2014. I understand that I’ll probably miss some great videos because I’m not such a conscientious “favourite” and “liker”, but that’s okay. This list is still awesome nonetheless.
I think this was the video where everyone on the SeaNanners channel realised that Sark was the epic master of hilarious answers to Chilled’s ridiculous questions.
Ah, those amazing moments when fails become successes and you’re so thankful that you’ve got it recorded. A close second to this is Ray’s “Eucalyptus!” moment.
The time when Arin went absolutely insane trying to impress a video game character and Danny just could not take anything seriously anymore and everyone in the comments section questioned Arin’s devotion to his wife, Suzy.
When the King of Cheatsydoodles shows his girlfriend how to play Prop Hunt and she wows him by accidentally stumbling on one of the best cheatsy hiding spots on a map he’s played countless times.
The awkward moment when the word “Rubber” is too dirty for a children’s MMO but “Condom” is not. And the amazing moment when a grown man needs to call his dad from halfway across the globe just so he can get permission to chat. (The link further in the video is here.)
And this one has to be my number one pick for funniest moment in a gaming video because when I saw this I literally cried with laughter and I’ve watched it again and again over twenty times. I also thought it was apt to end it with Mario Kart 8 and the Derp Crew because a large portion of 2014 was spent with me watching them.
So, do you have any favourites to share? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll definitely watch them. Personally I hope for many more hilarious moments in 2015.
So if it hasn’t been apparent yet, I have finished my goal to read 25 books for 2014. Yay! So what I want to do in this post is to rearrange the list of books that I read this year from the best to the worst – a great way to review all the books I’ve read in a nutshell.
25. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (February)
Insurgent was definitely the worst of the bunch. Terrible character and plot development. I’m really not looking forward to the movie itself. As far as I’m concerned, I’m completely put off by the Divergent series. Even the lovely Shailene Woodley cannot save this.
Girl Online is a read for those who are huge fans of the Youtuber, Zoe Suggs. It’s a lighthearted read you can curl in bed with on a rainy day. Never to take too seriously – it’s basically a rom com in book form.
23. Looking For Alaska by John Green (March)
Back when John Green thought himself one with the teen crowd but made a terribly cliched attempt at a teenage story. Oh, what do teenagers like? Cigarettes, tattoos, skipping class, rebellion – great, let’s have that. Oh, what makes a book have substance? Divorce, abuse, rape, alcohol and drug overdose, suicide – yup, that sounds great. That’s what Looking for Alaska is.
22. Emily of Emerald Hill by Stella Kon (September)
Overall a decent play. But a forgettable one for me. Maybe better as a play than a read through.
21. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (May)
I was really looking forward to this one, but again I have a feeling that it will be forgotten along with the above few stories. Maybe Blade Runner is a better movie, but K. Dick’s book was not really my cup of tea. I felt like two thirds of it I was waiting for something to start that didn’t.
20. The Death Cure by James Dashner (June)
A decent enough ending for The Maze Runner series. But I prefer the Mockingjay as a series ending. Another book I feel like I need to reread before the final movie to remember what exactly happened.
19. The Giver by Lois Lowry (July)
I have honestly yet to watch the movie. But I thought the book itself was a pretty decent dystopian story. I remember being fascinated by the Christian allusions in it. Overall a thought-provoking read. But I don’t think I’ll continue on in the series.
18. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (September)
A really easy read and in touched upon some distressing issues about the Holocaust and Auschwitz. I was so frustrated by the ending of this novel, but looking back on it, I feel like it was so necessary for the moral of the story. Only trouble I have is the portrayal of Bruno as a protagonist. He seemed more ignorant than a boy his age should have been.
17. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (March)
A better depiction of teenagers than Green’s Looking For Alaska – I felt like a decent portion of 2014 was spent looking for decent teenage novels. For this one I loved all the characters except the protagonist, which is a real odd feeling for me because I usually feel the closest with the protagonist. But, overall, I recommend it.
16. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (March)
I watched the movie a while back and decided to go to the novel to see if there was anything different. It definitely was different – if anything a little plain. I expected a lot more depth in language and character. But overall it was a decent book. More all-rounded than Thirteen Reasons Why.
15. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut (October)
This book really made me think about how we perceive time and space. It was incredibly well-written in terms of the choice of words by Vonnegut and I loved the entire plot of Billy Pilgrim getting dislodged in the time-space continuum – and the entire symbolism of it.
14. Sold by Patricia McCormick (September)
Sold was really different for me. It touches upon the issue of child trafficking and it made me really hurt inside for Lakshmi. It is also incredibly misleading. Despite how easy it is to read, and how few words there are sometimes, it tells so much more than is on the page – and its subject matter is so difficult to get through. For these reasons, Sold is another must-read.
13. The Kill Order by James Dashner (October)
I didn’t really expect much from the prologue of The Maze Runner, but this one surprised me as to how much I did love it. I loved the world that Dashner created after the sun flares. And the unexpected twist at the end of the novel.
12. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman (December)
I read this one in one night, two hours, on a cruise and was absolutely absorbed in the story. It is the perfect kind of magical realism children’s world that Gaiman creates. I would absolutely love to read this to my children one day before they go to sleep – or recreate my own reason as to why I was late to fetch the milk. 😉
11. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (July)
Neverwhere is definitely a more grown-up Gaiman novel that I loved. Honestly, I feel fortune to have read books that I generally loved this year and that I do not feel like I’ve wasted my time on. I loved the idea of London Above and London Below and that people can fall through the cracks and end up in an entirely scumbag world where you risk being forgotten and eaten by the rot. Gaiman is definitely an author that captured my heart this year – and the beautiful irony was that my New Year’s resolution for this year was a Gaiman quote.
10. The Maze Runner by James Dashner (May)
I feel like I have to put a majority of Maze Runner in my top 10 because I just absorbed this trilogy into my veins, like literal osmosis. It’s fast-paced, has so many twists and turns and a protagonist that I absolutely love-hated with a passion and a world that is just ugly to the core. I only wish for more character development.
9. Paper Towns by John Green (May)
Paper Towns took me by surprise as something I loved. After reading Looking for Alaska, I felt that The Fault in Our Stars was a fluke and that there would be no other good John Green book. Paper Towns renewed my faith that Green could write for teenagers. I liked the protagonist, I liked the plot. It had quotable quotes. I can’t wait for the movie.
8. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (June)
I feel like The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials was pretty much tied in love, but Paper Towns somehow managed to sandwich itself through – I don’t know what I’m saying now, it’s late and I did not expect that it would take so long to quick review 25 books (stupid stupid idea). But the one reason why The Scorch Trials wins over The Maze Runner for me is Brenda. Brenda was a great addition. And the landscape of the desert was just the grit the trilogy needed to make everything even more real and disgusting. Also, one chapter actually made me gasp and almost scream. I mean, I didn’t even do that for The Shining. But The Scorch Trials did that to me.
7. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (August)
Speak was an incredibly powerful novel for me. It spoke to me (oh my, here comes the unintentional puns). It tells the story of Melinda Sordino, who suffers from selective mutism after a traumatising incident (which I will not “speak” of). There were moments in this novel that really just yanked my heart out of my mouth.
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (September)
So what inspired Speak was this novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I think it’s been a while since I’ve read a book that was just gorgeously written. If you want poetry in prose form, Maya Angelou is the goddess of poetic writing. There are so many lines in this novel that should just be memorised and recited when one needs freedom from racism, sexism and just from being a judged human being. Absolute love.
5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (March)
Gah, this book gave me the feels. And, yes, I cried. The Fault in Our Stars is not perfect. It has its – dare I say it – faults. But there were so many moments in this book that reminded me of my own life (and I’m sure many of other readers’ lives) that I just have to put it up high on this list. I will remember many of these scenes more than others from other books on the list. Augustus Waters will forever live in these pages … okay, why am I getting so soppy in these last few reviews. Hush. Shut up.
4. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (May)
My good friend and fellow blogger, Rhey of Sunshine’s, favourite book. I decided to read it this year and I do not regret it. It was an incredible story of Charlie Gordon – a Forrest Gump-esque character – and his journey of obtaining intelligence through an experiment and the changes he experiences in his humanity and personality because of it.
3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (November)
I feel like this novel in particular is going to inspire me in a lot of my writing in the future. The Graveyard Book was everything that I needed in a Gaiman’s novel. It is the tale of a character named Nobody (Bod for short), who lives in a graveyard for his own protection. This is another book I can’t wait to be turned into a movie. And I feel like if there is a gorgeous version of it in book form, I would totally get it and reread it.
I think I will forever remember reading this book in one sitting in the library. I will cut this review short, but I feel like it was such a perfect novel, one of the best of 2014 – not only among the books I read, but I believe among all the other books of 2014. I feel like everyone should read this book if they were to read any book that came out this year.
This book definitely sits at the top of my list. Recently I’ve been listening to the audio book of it read by Will Wheaton and it honestly still leaves me so enthralled and gives me chills. I love the characters, I love the world and I love the plot. Whenever I read it I feel like I’m being given a crash course in American pop culture in the 80s.
Let me know what books you absolutely loved in 2014 and which ones I should add to my list for 2015. I’m contemplating of giving myself another goal for reading books next year. Maybe I’ll make it 30 – or keep it at 25 still (no need changing something that works). Either way, I just hope that I keep reading consistently. This year has been so much more amazing because of the above books I’ve read.
The end of 2014 is upon us. I remember it being February and I thought to myself how long this entire year would be and how I felt like I would never make it to this point in my life – but then suddenly everything was swept up in a Wizard-of-Oz-esque tornado and right now I feel like Dorothy, having experienced an entire adventure that required more brains, courage and heart than I’ve had to muster before.
But, enough of that. Along with the entire experience of 2014, I’ve realised, after collating this list, that my taste in a lot of things have changed. And, I thought it apt to sum up my favourite Youtube gamers of 2014. Maybe the year after I can do this again and see how things change once more.
I love watching the kids/teens/elderly react to all kinds of videos, but this year, I believe the Fine Bros made a smart move (among many other smart moves) to create a channel in which their “victims” react to all sorts of other things. Among the things they react to, besides food, giving advice, and toys, is video games. For those who aren’t the usual viewers of gamer channels on Youtube. I feel like this is a good channel to start.
I got into Kim’s Channel mostly because I was so addicted to Mario Kart 8 videos and all the usual channels I’m subscribed to had been exhausted. Kim of the Yogscast was exactly what I was looking for. After that, I watched a lot of her other videos and I’m absolutely in love with them. It helps that she plays the games I’m typically interested in, which include Steam Indie Games and Nintendo Games. She’s a good one to also start off with if you’re not much of a gamer yourself but like to watch a group of people have a fun time instead of having a fun time yourself. (‘Cause I’m sad like that sometimes.)
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I mostly watch FriendZone from Polaris. There are some cast members I absolutely love, like Dodger, the occasional GameGrump(s), NintendoFanFTW, and CinnamonToastKen, but others I find are rather (excuse the pun) dodgy. And because of this they’re not higher on my list. But they have some really lighthearted content that you can just click on and be sure that you can waste a good hour or so with: playlists such as “Sort This!” and “Table Flip” and “Strippin’s Got Game Show”. And probably because of this, this gaming channel has dug itself a nice warm spot in my heart this year.
For me, it’s been pretty difficult to figure out who to watch when there’s a huge group of gamers that are together and play the exact same game and will generally have to same audio but somewhat different footage. I’m not the type of person anymore who will waste their time watching the same played game from four or five different perspectives (cue meme: Nobody’s got time for that!) Before this year GassyMexican had been the gamer that I’d see from another person’s perspective and never gone on his channel to check out his. But, by the end of 2014, I’ve realised I really like this guy’s personality and now he’s crawled his way up to one of the few that I’d probably only check the perspective of.
Maybe a year ago the guys from Achievement Hunter would have been at the top of this list, but this year they’ve lost a significant amount of their charm for me. (Cue a completely unexpected rant:) I used to get so dang excited about their next Minecraft or Grand Theft Auto videos, but now I leave their Minecraft videos on my Watch Later list for weeks before I watch them and I don’t even blink at their GTA vids anymore. I avoid their comment section at all cost because everyone seems to be so negative. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love their content. Personally what I enjoy the most from this channel lately are the more random games they play. If anything those are the games I wish they’d play more. Personally I completely disagree with Geoff that their best videos are their GTA vids. If anything, they need to stop having Minecraft and GTA as continuous series – heck, even get rid of their Versus, Hunt and Go – and cater to the numerous other games out there that have yet to lose their charm from overplay.
For such short 2-3 minute videos, SeaNanners’ Channel is amazing. His personality is infectious and you instantly fall in love with it, and this is probably why he has such a loyal following. My favourite videos of his include when he plays The Hidden and Garry’s Mod Prop Hunt. The only reason why he’s probably not higher up in this list is because he’s not much of an all-rounded gamer. Garry’s Mod is his territory and often you’ll realise you’re not watching it for the game itself but the creative conversations and mini-games he and his friends create within it – which is amazing sometimes and other times can be complete misses for me.
The above video is probably the weirdest and best videos I’ve seen from Ze. If you had asked me last year who my favourite Youtubers were, Ze probably would not have been on the list. In fact, he wasn’t someone I even probably could identify on Youtube – yet. But this year, I realise that I’ve been watching a lot more of his videos; videos such as DerpCraft (I preferred his perspective as he was the one who was actually building a lot of things – albeit bridges – among the others) and I felt like I’d been on an emotional journey with him as I watched his series on “My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant” – which was amazing beyond belief. And, because of these unforgettable moments, he’s climbed up to my 5th favourite Youtube Gamer of 2014.
Game Grumps had some beyond amazing moments for me this year. A little lacklustre towards the end of the year, but incredibly solid videos in the beginning and middle of this year. I absolutely fell in love with the entire cast: Arin, Danny, Ross, Barry and Suzie. Their humour is always so on par. They have incredible stories and conversations during their videos and they really make subscribers feel like they’re part of one huge family. I would love to have Arin or Danny as an uncle, Ross as an annoying brother and Barry as a supportive one and Suzie as an amazingly creative and sweet sister. The only reason why they’re not higher on this list is because they cannot master “storytelling” video games, which is a real bummer. When you watch a Game Grumps video, be sure to be entertained by their fails and successes, but usually never with the backstory of the video they’re playing. And because of this, they cannot surpass my next favourite Youtube video gamer …
I’ll be honest and say I’m not that much of a loyal follower of him, I don’t watch every video he comes out with every day, every week of every month. But the three series that I did watch him complete, Outlast, Outlast: Whistleblower and Among the Sleep, were some of the best series I watched this year. Watching Mark play a game, you can tell he is so respectful and admirable of the video game developer’s craft; he is so immersed in the story, and some of the lines he screams out are genius. I can guarantee that I’ll start 2015 with a newfound respect for his videos and definitely catch more of them in future. I also personally appreciate that he takes the time to finish the videos and pay attention to details within them. If there were any Youtube Gamer out there who shows genuine appreciation of his career and the content he deals with, it’s Markiplier.
It’s really difficult out there to find a Youtube gamer who has a good mix of everything in his/her channel and in themselves. ChilledChaos definitely does have a whole lot of everything that makes him one of my most go-to channels for gaming. It is (almost) safe to say that in this entire year I’ve watched at least one of his videos every day. Chilled has charisma, intelligence, is (sometimes questionably) a nice guy and is a more than decent gamer such that he won’t make you cringe when he takes on a game or goes in a competition against other gamers. He will make you cringe in other departments – such as his terrible cosplay of Princess Peach – but, that’s okay, you can skip those videos if they’re a bit too risque. All that aside, because of his consistency and dedication to his channel, he’s still up there (and probably will be up there for a long time) among my favourites.
This one is a surprise to me, because if I was told in the beginning of this year that I would put OhmWrecker before RoosterTeeth and ChilledChaos in a list of my top 10 favourite Youtube Gamers, I would have not believe you, but I admit, it’s true – very very true. OhmWrecker has the knack of finding games, like Don’t Starve Together, Depth, Evolve, and Town of Salem, that I will just watch the heck out of. Some nights have been spent this year going on marathons of Ohm’s videos, staying up to as late (or early) as six in the morning finishing off, just one more, Town of Salem video. What makes his videos even more appealing is the friends he surrounds himself with and the personality that he projects in his video. Because of all of this dedication to his channel, I would gladly put him at the top of my list.
And that’s it! That’s the list. Among all these amazing Youtube video gamers are hundreds of thousands of video games played, and a whole range of them to satisfy anyone’s cravings. If you had to follow just ten video gamers on Youtube, I suggest that you follow these guys. 😀
So as you saw last week, I ranked all the movies I’ve currently watched for 2014. Here is another list for the movies that I watched outside of theatres this year for the first time.
As you can probably tell, they are a very different sort from the kind that I usually catch in theatres – they’re not really blockbusters and most of them are the kind deemed “trashy”. Others just can’t be found in cinemas. And, because of how diverse these movies are, this was a very difficult list to assemble. Some (like the documentaries vs. the others) were like comparing apples to oranges – pardon the use of a cliched euphemism.
Here is the gallery of them (in the order at which I watched them), and the ranking:
Indie Game: The Movie
About Time ♥
Speak
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
WarGames
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
The First Time ♥
The Internship ♥
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 ♥
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ♥
Stuck in Love
Free to Play
Panopticon
Tron: Legacy
Fun Size
Vampire Academy
Final Destination
♥ Watched more than once
I don’t know why but I feel like I need to make a personal apology for Tron – I honestly wouldn’t have watched it if it wasn’t on TV during the time, and I did try to give it a shot. But for me it was absolutely boring. The plot was overused, the mise en scene was excruciatingly minimalist (in the worse way) – and I love Daft Punk and all but the music really didn’t create anything meaningful for me in terms of atmosphere. To me, the Tron universe seems like the worse place to be stuck in. Like being stuck in another dimension in a grey box with lines. Oh, and I really did not feel attached to any of the characters … so, maybe on second thought I shouldn’t apologise for not liking it. I’ll just admit it: I don’t like Tron.
So, for 2015 I pretty much have a list of 90s movies that I have yet to watch but probably should. That’s on my agenda for movies outside of cinemas for next year.
It’s been a while since I’ve made any other post apart from an update.
Today I’ll be going through the movies that I’ve watched in theatres for 2014 and will be ranking them from best to worst.
Take note that these are the movies that I’ve only watched up till now. So this means it may not contain your favourites and may miss out some great movies because I never watched them yet (since they are coming out in December). Also, take note that even though a movie may be at the bottom, it doesn’t mean that I regard them as the worse movies ever – after all I did take the time to actually go see them instead of a handful of others. And the ones that are at the bottom of my list are usually ones that I was dragged along to watch.
So, without much ado, here is the gallery of the movies watched (sorted in the order I watched them in) and a ranking of them. Enjoy.
Big Hero 6 ♥
Guardians of the Galaxy
Edge of Tomorrow
The Lego Movie ♥
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Fault in Our Stars
Mockingjay – Part 1
The Maze Runner
The One-Hundred Foot Journey
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The Book of Life
Mr. Peabody and Sherman
X-Men Days of Future Past
Penguins of Madagascar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Annabelle
Non-Stop
Divergent
Dracula Untold
♥ Movies I watched in theatres twice
So, are there any movies you caught in 2014 that you think I should catch and deserve to be at the top of the list?
The next list I’ll be ranking are movies I managed to catch this year that weren’t in theatres. 🙂
I realise that, as of late, I haven’t been blogging as much. This has less to do with me not having anything I want to blog about and more to do with the amount of assignments that are trooping towards me on the battlefield which is my one-year of college. I think you can tell from my most recent posts though that a lot are Halloween themed.
Similarly, I would like to introduce a game that I have been playing too much of this week that is so aptly related to Halloween and Fall this month. Said game is…
Game duration: 20-25 minutes No. of Players: maximum 15 (Online), can play solo or with friends Game type: Bluffing, Deception, Deduction Similar to:One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Coup, Saboteur
I think I discovered this game last Sunday and I’ve been playing it ridiculously too much this week. The hype for it (or at least the Classic mode) has died down a lot since that I’ve been able to focus on other things like readings. But I thought I may as well introduce it here all the same because they are having a Kickstarter for it and trying to raise money. Having been absolutely addicted to it means that I do believe it is a worthy cause.
If you’ve ever played a game called Werewolf or Mafia or maybe even Polar Bear in real life or the board game of Werewolf, it works like that. There are phases of day and night.
During the night the Mafia and the Serial Killer will choose, separately, to kill one member of the town. Other town members might have other duties at night, e.g. a lookout may look into one townie’s house per night or a jailor might choose to jail and probe another townie for their role and choose to execute them in jail.
Credit goes to blankmediagames.com
The day phase begins with finding out who has died, whether they left a will with clues and the death note from the Mafia or Serial Killer. Then there will be a few seconds of discussion, followed by a voting period for who should be put up on trial. If someone is chosen to go up on trial, they need to plead their case and the rest of the town can decide whether they are innocent, guilty or abstain from voting. And this pretty much continues until the town wins, the mafia wins or the serial killer wins.
It’s free to play, just register an account or use your Facebook account.
It’s a pretty low stakes but highly addictive “Who Is Who?” type of game.
Choosing your random name means you can be creative – but not too creative or you get killed. E.g. I chose the nickname “Twizzler” once, and the Mafia and SK got me on the first night. They apparently love candy.
It’s definitely fun to fool the town (if you’re an evil role).
Certain roles are definitely more fun than others, in my opinion: Some of my favourite roles include Transporter and Veteran. My strategy as a Transporter has always been to put a deliberate target on myself as a townie who probes for roles too much, then I switch my position with a suspected evil role at night. I’ve done this successfully about two or three times, and it’s an amazing feeling to have the Mafia commit suicide. Similarly, I love being a Veteran as there has been one game where I managed to go on alert and kill three out of the four evil roles. Those are the highlights of the gameplay.
It’s also a great feature that, when you die, you are still not out of the game (in fact, sometimes it’s even necessary that you stay) – that is until the Medium or Retributionist is dead too.
Even so, it’s sometimes fun to even stay and find out who the bad guys actually were or whether your side wins, cause you’ll get coins for your side coming out on top.
What I hate about the game?
This is a love-hate feature of the game, but Townies can be pretty darn stupid, and accusing innocent people, or being dead and watching the innocent accuse other innocence is very infuriating.
Sometimes whether you win or not is entirely dependent on luck, i.e. whether you’re in a lobby with daft idiots and also whether your name is randomly chosen to die or be interrogated.
What I’ve also noticed about playing it for a week is that the Classic mode becomes incredibly predictable.
Once you know the nooks and crannies of the gameplay, you can pretty much solve who is good and who is bad, and lying never helps the Mafia or the SK – or even the Executioner. Which makes being part of the Mafia less fun. During the earlier games I loved being the bad guy – but after a dozen or so more games I realised I hated it ’cause I hated having to do the same lies.
There really isn’t much salvation once someone finds out you have forging instruments.
Again, some roles are more fun than others so you know if you get Lookout or Escort, your game is going to be pretty much so low stakes that you can die and be done with.
Which sometimes leads to trolls.
Things that need to be improved upon: It’s currently in its Beta phase so there are still definitely improvements that can be made. But here are some of my observations:
When going into a lobby, there really should not be a host that has to start the game. Often people who are hosts don’t realise it and then other players will swear and draw blood and try to repick that person. It’s an unnecessary hassle, just start the game when there’s 15 people in there.
Another thing that needs to be improved upon is the Jailor features. The sun icon that is meant for the jailor to choose a person to put into jail should be changed. There were so many times I was a jailor and I knew I had to pick during the day, but often forgot because the icon is so small. I’d rather that the jailor is reminded to pick at the end of the day phase.
Apart from that, I believe that it plays out quite smoothly.
If you’re not the type to try to recce before doing something, then I suggest just getting into the game and learning along the way. People in the lobby are more than willing to help out new people.
Some first timer tips would be:
to make sure that you write a will (it’s on the top left hand corner, the blank note).
If you want to whisper the format is “\w [username or number] [msg]” – as you may see this a lot and wonder how to reply or do the same, so e.g. “\w 2 I healed you last night”.
As a mafia member, don’t say your mafia brethren’s names cause the Random Town person can be a Spy. Alternatively, you can try trolling by writing someone else’s name, but if they see through you, it doesn’t help either cause they eliminate certain suspects.
If someone is immune, keep an eye on them, but don’t immediately suspect them as GF or SK.
Lastly, I think this is the perfect little online game to get into for this month! You can even add friends to play one game with. You can give away each other’s roles but be sure not to give away your name!
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