Friday, March 4, 2016

Deadpool review. A Must See Or Fox's New Cautionary Tale?

"Hello my little lovelies."
Deadpool was one of the most anticipated movies of 2016! I mean it took over the marketing world both offline and online and they just ran with it, you couldn't watch a trailer without seeing something about Deadpool, this movie was everywhere! Which is usually the standard go to marketing plan with any new 20th Century Fox movie that's coming out, but they took it to a new level with this Ryan Reynolds movie. The investment did pay off with the movie being the second-biggest grossing R-rated film of all time, earning 619.3 million USD worldwide.
Like with all Superhero movies it has a wide audience, everyone loves a good Superhero, especially one with a twist. The twist being he's no Superhero at all actually. Free of the burden of the usual Superhero stigma of respectful and nice and a basic good conscience, Deadpool takes the term Superhero pretty loosely and just goes ahead and loses his social filter when it comes to pretty much everything. It didn't get a G rating for nothing after all. But with all the swearing, cursing, sex scene and a full on naked Ryan Reynolds, comes also comedy and as he puts it a "love story".
The story is basically about Reynolds who has left the special forces and a dishonourable discharge behind and has become a mercenary for hire. Everything is going great for him, he even meets someone who's crazy fits his crazy. Until he is told his days are numbered. To the rescue comes an evil scientist with the promise of Superhero like abilities thanks to a black-market treatment for cancer. Only to find out he's being turned into a super slave. After torture and a rogue experiment he leaves Deadpool completely disfigured, but gives him the ability to regenerate from pretty much anything. He escapes and later goes hunting for the man who did that to him, Ajax *also known as Francis*. 
What makes this movie so fun to watch is the refreshing script and freedom when it comes to the overly sarcastic Reynolds. He truly is enjoyably obnoxious! Also awareness of his own fictional status and constant name dropping of fellow superheroes along with real life actors makes for a fun experience. With a fresh new take on the Superhero movie genre Deadpool changed the Superhero game, proving sarcasm and profanity can fit a hero. It's cool, it's fun, it will make you laugh, cry and go awww only to make you laugh again. So to all the movie lovers out there, I highly recommend watching Deadpool, it will make for one fun movie night, perfect for the weekend!
Geek out!

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

So, Spring. We meet again!

Sunshine, flowers, birds singing, sugar, spice, and everything nice.. Wait, I may have gotten lost there for a minute, where was I? Ah yes, Spring is here! And though I am a huge fan of winter for obvious reasons, the beautiful snow, building snowmen, drinking hot chocolate in front of a fire, spring does have it's upsides. The weather for one, the sun comes out of hibernation and brings with it nice opportunities like romantic walks or the chance to go on a photography adventure around the city without needing 10 layers of clothing to prevent freezing, and so on.
Everyone celebrates the arrival of spring in their own way depending on their customs and traditions. Depending on where you are today you could celebrate by going swimming at midnight, or if you happen to be in Romania there's the traditional mărțişor. One of the oldest customs in Romania is gifting a mărțişor, usually a small pin like medallion paired with red & white strings. Also part of this years tradition is the cold apparently. Seems the weather around here hasn't gotten the news that it's time for the rain to go into hibernation. Spring also means more beautiful flowers. Just think of all the tulips, lilacs, hyacinth and peonies, oh the lovely peonies. Anyway, tell me some of your traditions, how do you spend the first day of spring? What are your tips for a getting spring started the right way?
Wherever you are and however you decide to celebrate this day, make sure you have fun and enjoy this lovely day. Let's kick today off with some dancing, with an assist from Brandon Flowers - Still Want You . Now get on your feet and get to dancing.
Geek out!

Monday, February 22, 2016

Here's Why Instagram Is The New Social Superpower

The giant himself.
We live in a busy world where technology seems to be our best ally. Even though we are drowning in social platforms and new apps that are being developed every day, there are a few platforms that remain "Social Superpowers" as I like to call them. In a time when there are hundreds of copies made of a new app every week, some of them hold their own by following some simple rules, mainly one rule: UX. I think the user experience is one of the most important factors in creating anything that is meant to be used by everyone in the world, since ultimately the users have the power to make or break it. 
So in the arena of Twitter and Facebook, comes Instagram. One of the fastest growing giants of them all, with over 400 million monthly users it surpasses even Twitter. So let's get to it, what is this undisputable's giants secret?
The first reason Instagram is so popular is that it's very user friendly. The interface was created for the every day user. The upload process, the profile settings and even following new profiles is easier than ever.
Then there's brand awareness. While we may not like to admit it we are influenced by society and marketing. Recommendations and advertisements play an important factor in our decision making process. We follow what others do and try new things based on what we see.
The 3rd reason is the freedom it provides. No longer are photographers defined by professional camera's and the technical details. With one smartphone users become 21st century photojournalists. Sharing their view of life and stories with their followers, not unlike a photographer does at an art gallery, turning Instagram into their showing room and followers into their captive audience.
The 4th reason are the number of edit settings. No longer do users have to turn to Photoshop or Illustrater to make their pictures perfect. Instagram offers a wide variety of filters as well as individual edit options to fix everything from lighting to contrast. Giving every day people the chance to be recognised among the best.
The 5th reason are the opportunities it creates. With high quality content comes opportunity. Companies often enter partnerships with Instagrammers that have a big following to promote their services or products. Giving marketers access to a new and real audience and Instagrammers the chance to make a living by doing what they love.
So there you have it, Instagram came - gave users what they wanted - and secured it's place among the giants of today's social media platforms.
Geek out!

Friday, February 19, 2016

8 Songs to Change Your Life

Music will change your life.
Though I have said many times that, for me at least, coffee makes the world go 'round I also believe music plays a big part in that. That's probably one of the reasons my headphones are permanently attached to me, ha ha. So without further ado, here are 8 songs that will change your life!
The first one is the "current obsession", the one song that you can listen to on repeat all day without getting sick of it. For me at the moment that song is by Aron Wright - I Surrender. It was recently featured on Grey's Anatomy and ever since then it has found it's way into my heart and head. It's one of those songs that brings you the classic tale of hurt and hope.
Next up is the "love song", that will always make you think of someone you love or have loved deeply. I bring you: James Bay - Scars. His raspy voice makes even your fingertips tingly and your heart ache for days long past.
There's the "apology song" that lists a lot of regrets for past wrong doings and makes even the best of us think twice about our past actions. City and Colour - The Girl perfectly sums up the sacrifices others make for us and the regret of not appreciating them more for it.
Hozier - Take Me To Church brings us the "brave song", the one song that while discussing current social issues also makes you want to be brave. All about silenced screams it is pushed through by one of the best voices of our time.
The "declaration song" comes from The Lumineers - Ho Hey. A short upbeat song that simply states a desire to be with someone.
OneRepublic - I Lived is one heck of a "party song"! While it might start out slow, it propels you into a dancing mood within seconds!
For the days that you feel like crawling under your blankets, shutting the blinds and never leaving your bed again, I give you the "comfort song" The Civil Wars - Dust to Dust. It will match your mood while silently comforting you with the softness of Joy Williams and John Paul White's voices.
Finally, the "guilty pleasure song" is that one song you know you like and makes you smile but you're too afraid to share with anyone. Walk the Moon - Shut Up and Dance always manages to lift my spirits, ha ha!
There are many more songs that can replace the ones I mentioned above and make our life just a little bit better, sadly I can't list them all or we would never get through this article, ha ha. For every part of our life there is a song that will either help us through it or make it even better and match our happiness. So dive in and enjoy the music.
Geek out!


Wednesday, February 17, 2016

How to Survive Rainy Days

Coffee? Yes please!
While I love rainy days as much as the next person, that is permanently attached to a fuzzy blanket and lost in her Netflix queue, I do think that a full week of rainy days is a bit much. Luckily I have a few tips on how to get through one of those weeks.
The first step, and maybe the most important one, is to always have hot drinks around. Be it coffee for the caffeine addicts or tea for the bookworms. Next on the list is making sure you're dressed warm enough. My favourite choices usually include an oversized sweater with some warm leggings and comfy boots. In case you're lucky and happen to have a few days off from work then it's fuzzy pajamas all the way!
While these are all important another thing to not forget are headphones and a good playlist. You can't get through a rainy day without music *you can't really get through any day without music, or is that just me?*. If you're at home order some great food, get under the blankets and just watch movies all day. There's no better therapy than movie therapy.
Now if you have to actually be productive, shutting the blinds might just save you from wasting time at work and not completing your projects. I always get distracted by the sound of the raindrops on the windowsill, so I tend to stay away from windows. Just stick to your desk and focus on your work, try and distract yourself with funny memes or reading the latest news from around the world, get lost in a great article about new marketing strategies or look at travel websites and plan a vacation, or go searching for some cool tutorials, just find stuff that takes your mind of the horrible weather outside. And don't go falling into a seasonal depression thinking about how life is unfair and start remembering all the things that went wrong in your life so far. That won't help anyone, neither you nor your colleagues who will probably be wondering why you're on the floor rolled up as a ball crying your eyes out. Instead turn your office into a music filled hangout and get to work!