Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Bobby Gillespie recommended Clash by The Clash in Music (curated)

 
Clash by The Clash
Clash by The Clash
1977 | Rock
8.6 (5 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"So it's spring, early summer in 1977. I'm a teenager that's started school. I read a book about a punk. I know something's happening. I heard 'God Save The Queen'. I started buying records like The Stranglers' 'Peaches' and The Clash's first album. I remember looking at the cover of the latter at a record store at the bottom of my street called Soundtrack Records. I remember looking at the three guys on the cover with brutally shorn hair, tight drainpipes and wearing shirts with Paul Simonon having a Union Jack stitched on over the pocket. There was also a photo of the Notting Hill riots with the police fighting the Rasta youth. Earlier that year I watched a documentary with my father about the Notting Hill riots at the carnival. I found it really inspirational because I just love seeing the youth rise up and take on the cops. It was a pre-punk moment of seditious confrontation that I found totally inspiring. Just seeing people saying ""fuck you"" to the system is always inspiring to me. In terms of the Clash album itself, the song titles even sound great, such as 'I'm So Bored With The U.S.A.', 'White Riot', 'London's Burning' – I was like, ""Fuck!"" before I'd even heard the record! It totally blew my mind and I ended up buying the record. For a long time I'd stood outside the record store and looked at the sleeve! This album was basically everything I was waiting for. It was my rock & roll. Previous to that, I'd heard rock songs on commercial top-40 radio stations, such as Deep Purple, The Who and Rolling Stones, but it felt like a different generation's music. So with The Clash, I finally found my thing. The songwriting on the Clash album is amazing. 'Remote Control' lyrically was about big business and not liking the things you do. You got no money, you got no power, they think you're useless and that's exactly how you feel. I thought, ""Fucking hell"" when I heard it back. You still felt as a kid scared of going into the adult world when you left school. The song wasn't rock bravado or being macho but about being a young person going out into the world for the first time feeling powerless, which was empowering because when you relate to something, you feel stronger. 'Hate & War' was another song that took the hippie ideal of love and peace and turned it on its head by saying: ""There ain't no love and peace, this is the '70s, it's fucking hate and war here."" Punk rock was my portal and pathway to being a creative person. And the first Clash album was everything to set me on my way. Even now, I feel quite emotional talking about this. It's the most emotional record the Clash made because there's something really pure about it. I also think there's a humanism that the Clash have that the Pistols didn't, as the latter were just pure rage. For those reasons, this record is my life."

Source
  
The Perfect Husband
The Perfect Husband
Buffy Andrews | 2018 | Contemporary
8
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Plenty of romance (2 more)
Well written
Very dark and pyschologically suspenseful
Fantastic And Addictive!
When Shelly's marriage ends in divorce, she's left completely devastated and feeling like she's never going to find love again. Then she meets Eric after joining an online dating agency, and he's handsome, caring, and everything she has ever wanted. From romantic dates to expensive gifts, it's as if she's in a dream.

But just when Shelly thinks she's finally found her perfect match, she begins to realize that all is not as it seems. As the cracks start to develop, perhaps Eric isn't everything she thought he was. Will her dream become a nightmare?

Shelly is very much in love and is blissfully unaware of and ignores all the warning signs that Eric is unwittingly giving out.

"He was making me feel things I'd never felt before. And there, at that moment, blanketed by his warm kisses and tender love, I felt like I was in heaven and I knew I would never be the same."

Her best friend, Jackie and her work colleagues are also equally charmed by him.

"He's incredible, .....I can certainly see why you're falling in love with him. He's so generous......."

Then the warning triggers come, that all is not right with Eric.

"You should download a GPS tracker app on your cell phone so I can keep tabs on you."

"You're joking, right?"

"Not really........"

After Shelly and Eric marry, outgoing, attractive, confident Shelly is frequently accused of flirtatious behaviour with other men and is forced into sex acts and acting out her husband's fantasies. She becomes a shadow of herself, whilst keeping up the pretence of a perfect marriage.

This novel is a fantastic and addictive read and I was very impressed with the author's writing style. Although there is plenty of romance, it is also a very dark, psychologically suspenseful novel and certainly not all hearts and flowers.
  
40x40

Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated Game Night (2018) in Movies

Jul 20, 2018 (Updated Jul 20, 2018)  
Game Night (2018)
Game Night (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Mystery
Great cast, great chemistry (3 more)
Great humour
Loved the plot
Keeps you guessing
A newly perfect movie?
This is a fantastic movie. The humour is spot on. Very funny, it's not too stupid and it's not too serious.

All through the movie your kept guessing what's real and what's fake. Plenty of twists to keep you hooked. Unpredictable in most parts and a great ending.

The dialogue is perfectly written and the cast do great. Everyone is perfectly cast. They all have great chemistry and are very likable. The plot is different, I've never seen a movie like it that I can remember and I would watch it again. Would love to see a sequel but cannot see how they could make it different.
  
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Jack Black (1 more)
Kevin Heart
Too long (2 more)
Bad CGI
Bad Villian
Welcome 2 Jumanji
I’ll keep this short. Jumanji 2 wasn’t needed. It was enjoyable, but not necessary. It had its moments, after they got into the game, and it was surprisingly funny, but it still wasn’t needed.

Look out for the Robin Williams tribute, it’s a blink and you’ll miss kinda thing. Just turn your brain off and enjoy it for what it is, which is more of a Nickelodeon movie than a Jumanji movie. Basically, it’s what I expected “Legends of The Hidden Temple” to be like.




All of that being said, I did enjoy it, so I’m rating it rather high. If you loved the old Jumanji, there’s enough nostalgia that you’ll love this one, but not so much that it shoves it down your throat either.
  
The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera
Gaston Leroux | 1987 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.0 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book so much. It's got a little bit of everything and the story (kinda based on actual events?) plays out superbly.

Poor Christine has no idea that the Angel of Music she's being so thoughtful tutored by is the dreaded Opera Ghost.

The dashing Raoul determined to save his childhood friend.

The OG (you probably know his name but let's let that be a surprise for those that don't know!) who feels destined to wander the opera house.

It all starts with a hanging man, a man whose noose mysteriously disappears.

This story has been told many tests and I don't want to sound like a snobby purist but I honestly think this is the best version.
  
DS
Deliciously Sinful
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wait….it’s over? Where are the amazing chapter long sex scenes that make even me blush? Where is all the scenes detailed down what underwear she is wearing? I love me some Lilli Feisty but this novel just lacked the fire and erotica that the other two did.

One of the reasons Lilli Feisty is my favorite is because she writes erotica that’s outside the norm (considering they classify her novels as just romance instead of erotica.) Very rarely have I run across a book in the romance section and pull one out that has tasteful bondage in it. Feisty does it like it’s second nature. In this book, however, we only are given some steamy foreplay and two very short sex scenes. It was greatly disappointing especially since I have been waiting for it so long.

Despite that, I still cannot give it anything less 5 stars because there is not a single thing I can find wrong with it. I did not get my delicious sex scenes, though what I was given was just as tasteful and…well hot, but it still had everything that made it a great novel. I love the characters far too much for my own good. They are so 3D that it’s hard to believe that are just characters in a book. Not to mention they had me laughing the entire time with their banter.

If you’re looking for a novel the same as her first two, you might be disappointed by the lack of erotica.However, the story line and characters make up for it.
  
Living My Best Li(f)e
Living My Best Li(f)e
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fast and chill reads are always the hit for me. I definitely enjoy drinking my hot chocolate and cuddling my blanket while reading a chill book on my sofa. '' Living My Best Li(f)e '' was a modern-day book, that captures today's problems, and it felt familiar, because I have seen these problems in my surrounding. It focuses mostly on social media, and the differences between what we present online, and who we really are in the real world.

We have one woman - Bell - who is about to turn 40, and her comfort is broken when her man decides to leave her after years of togetherness.

We also have another woman, Millie, in her mid-thirties, and her little son Wolf (who names their child Wolf?). Millie fell in love with a football star Louis and had a child with him. To her disappointment, she realized the man she is in love with is the most unreliable parent in the world. She also happens to be an Instagram star, that only shows the world what she wants them to see.

While the followers see expensive dresses and well-behaved child, the reality shows that Millie takes a picture of the dresses and returns them to the shop, unable to afford them. She is also receiving calls from Wolfie's school that he has not be behaving in his best manners.

When these two women accidentally meet, they turn out to be besties. In fact, they became besties so fast, that I had to laugh out loud at how bizarre and unrealistic that was. Do you ever go to a coffee shop, say hi to a person, and then THE SAME DAY, THE SAME CONVERSATIONS you both start sharing your deepest secrets? Yes - it was that bizarre.

I really wanted to love '' Living My Best Li(f)e '' , as it captured a lot of problems. But it only captured the surface of these problems, then solved them instantly and moved on. And I wasn't satisfied. There were so many little plot problems that the author kept adding to the book randomly to keep the story going, and kept resolving them one by one - no anticipation, no hunger for one more chapter. Disappointing.

First of all, all the characters were not realistic. We have this woman that keeps saying she can be on her own, but she also keeps complaining every second of the day.

Then, we have this other woman, who seems like such a person that everyone is looking up to, but in fact, she is too scared to say no to her ex-love and father of her child, and she keeps up with all his nonsense on a daily bases.

Last, but not least, we have the 5-year-old Wolf boy, who talks like a 20-year-old boy, but behaves like a toddler, and I don't know how to react to that.

And finally, we have ''the rest of the characters'', who were mentioned and had their own roles in the book, but didn't have enough of a back story or air-time in order to be remembered by the audience.

The author also introduced us to a plot twist, that came out unexpectedly - but suddenly the government were about to destroy their community center and it was up to them to collect money and save this place in a record time. How convenient for the story, right? With no building up to it, the problem just raised from the ground... And you can all imagine the happy endings and soppy stories that followed with their success.

So yeah - that got me, and I didn't believe it for a second, and therefore this review. I really wanted to love Living My Best Li(f)e, but nothing worked out. Disappointing characters, plots and lack of thrill. Not a great experience for me. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you choose to read it, I would love to know what you think! <3