Midweek Metaphor

What's up everyone? An assignment is pending but right now there are too much thoughts and ideas bouncing around my head. I need to materialize them in writing for you to ponder or they'll ultimately disappear into a forgotten realm. Here goes...

My beard and I share a special bond. Over the Christmas break my brother challenged me to a "beard-off " thus a relationship was born.  During the good times it was flourishing and all was well. However, this relationship wasn't meant to be. The growth began to stagnate so I severed the connection. It last a total of six weeks. Upon reflection it wasn't the right decision because my face now feels naked. Nevertheless, there is some consolation in knowing my facial hair will eventually come back.

Human relationships can arguably seem more complex. My beard began life already attached (to my face) but to form an attachment with another person the good experiences have to happen first. From this initial connection a relationship may develop. Without proper maintenance there is no guarantee it will last. To cut a beard you need a razor and a steady hand. It can be difficult to just cut someone off once you are attached and it's likely to be the heart instead of your face that feels the detriments of separation. In a relationship, slow growth is better than no growth and love is what keeps it going.

Okay, I'm getting all metaphorical in this bitch today. My intention was to define some key differences between attachment, love and relationships using my beard story as an analogy. Hopefully I have accomplished that mission so I'll get back to work.

Back In The Day

Since I've been back at uni time just seems to evaporate. Apologies for neglecting the blog over the last few days, it's a mixture of genuine amnesia and procrastination so I'll try to be more focused. Hmm... what's on my mind today?

Childhood. Let's take it old school!

I was a 90's baby - '93 to be precise. This was the golden era. Spice Girls were topping the charts, Power Rangers was actually a decent show and Pokemon was the centre of my world. My love for games also began around this time. I vividly remember playing Super Nintendo at my cousin's house. To say he was a bit greedy is an understatement. My brother and I would hardly have a turn but it was still enjoyable. The day we got our own console was unforgettable, the original Playstation. Powering it on for the first time was a magical experience.

Naively, I believed nothing could make me as excited ever again. That is until the arrival of Scalextric. For those who don't know, Scalextric let's you build your own circuit and use a triggered controller to race against an opponent. Our Scalextric set lasted about a week. The car engines simply could not handle the heat. Now I think about it a lot of my toys broke from overexertion, the mini air-hockey table, swingball, action figures. I was a pretty destructive kid.

Thankfully, I've become more calm as an adult but my wilder side is prevalent in certain situations. Some things never change though because Space Jam is still one of my all-time favourite films and I'm into games now more than ever before. As a child, you imagine yourself as a grownup: what you'll look like, how you'll speak, your profession etc. I never would have pictured myself where I am today, hell! I used to wanna be a fireman to be honest.

Ah well!

Times change, people grow older, we might lose the ones we love. All these things can influence the person we become. As I see it, it doesn't matter so long as you have an aspiration and the commitment to reach your goals.

Ugh! this sounds all preachy and motivational. I'm off for a well-deserved games break, ciao!

Dishing It Out

My favourite food? Macaroni cheese. It is so good. I remember as a kid I would only eat bananas, custard and macaroni cheese (not in the same meal; well the macaroni anyway). Growing up, more foods were introduced to the equation: my grandma's chicken and rice was a staple part of my diet. Cooking amazing meals runs in the family and I'm no exception. My partner's gene pool must share a similar level of culinary finesse. After all who doesn't want a master-chef baby?

Cooking is a necessity if you want to live a long and healthy life. Some people can cook. On the other hand others cannot fry an egg - yes it's a sad world. Worse yet, living among us are those who don't even like eggs. Now I'm not really too fussed whenever food is concerned apart from two travesties:

-Mushrooms.
I find mushrooms to be completely pointless. Furry, tasteless fungi - no thank you. Any amount of breadcrumbs won't save the damn things. I implore you all to leave the mushroom life behind.

-Yoghurt.
A mess to say the least. Hard to define exactly what I despise about. Maybe the diabolical texture, maybe the rancid taste. Banish it now!

Anyway, it's gonna be a short post today. All this talk is making me hungry...

Kirby from Super Smash Bros Brawl ©2008 Nintendo

Back To Business?

The last few remnants of Christmas and New Years festivities are quickly fading. Nationwide, adults are facing the reality of returning to work. As for many students, January exams await. Abandoned textbooks are being dusted off while I write. 'Tis the season of mass-cramming, especially for university students living away from home.

The dreaded packing process. Many hours of life are wasted in a futile attempt to fit tons of clothes into a tiny case. For those lacking the skills the struggle is definitely real. However, a Tetris master like myself belongs to the packing elite. I'd advise you to stay ahead of the game and prepare in advance.

This time next week I'll already be back in Bournemouth. Saying I haven't missed B-town would be a lie. Don't get me wrong, it was nice to catch up with friends and family but this break has been dragging on.Will I get work done? Of course, I'm there to learn and tuition fees aren't cheap anymore (yes coalition government I am looking at you) but I'm sure as hell gonna have my fair share of fun.

As for my packing, it is done and dusted. There's something I love about the anticipation of where I'm going. Travelling is as much about the journey as the destination and I find that the suitcase becomes the physical manifestation of my inner excitement. In the future I plan to travel the world: business class or above. Not sure whether to take anybody with me though because people generally begin annoy me after approximately 3 weeks. Besides, I'm a solo guy. Anyway, the place I'd like to visit most is Japan. My case is likely to be empty when I head there so I can stock up on vintage tees (they can keep the sushi). It's all about the big J A P A N! The landscapes looks amazing. Manga is awesome. Samurai swords are fucking bad-ass. Oh and how can I forget the games?

Happy holidays everyone.

One last thing. If you could go anywhere in the world then where would you like to go?

Photograph by Martin Stavars ©2010-2013 *xMEGALOPOLISx

Catch Me If You Can

Hello, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. As I'm sure you have gauged, this guy is the epitome of smooth. Don't know who "this guy" is? Slap yourself.

Leonardo DiCaprio easily cuts the mustard as one of the greatest actors of all time (apart from Titanic. I hate Titanic with a passion). Continuing the trend from my last post I am once again late to the scene for a great film, Catch Me If You Can. One of my housemates has been pestering me to watch it and to be honest I don't know why I didn't listen earlier, after all he was right about The Walking Dead (which is awesome by the way) How can I accurately convey my sentiment? It also stars Tom Hanks. Enough said.

I don't intend to delve too deeply into the plot. The main premise is that Frank (DiCaprio) is on the run for committing financial fraud. A lot of films have tried to incorporate the idea of a fugitive but none do it in quite the same way as this Spielberg masterpiece. The connection between Frank and Carl (Hanks) is far more than the generic "cops and robbers" archetype. There's not much more to say apart from "watch the damn thing!"

Catch Me If You Can did get me wondering. What is the obsession with staying ahead? Will owning a £300 belt really make you happy? Moreover, is the procurement of material goods your definition of winning?  I know we live in capitalist society where competition is necessary but is winning really everything?  On the contrary, competition can bring out the best in people, winning can inspire others and losing can motivate you to try harder. Few things motivate me  more than missing out on 1st place by a single point in Mario Kart. Believe me, all my housemates have heard the midnight MK rage.

Let's apply some of these concepts to sport e.g. London 2012 Olympics. Competition brought Great Britain's residents closer together. Also, sprinters Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake broke records and inspired a whole generation to win. Jessica Ennis became the face of Britain. In my opinion, winning is a lovely habit.

Just some random thoughts.

Get out there and win!

Breaking The Seal

The Jamaican authorities called. They want my black man card back. Why? I broke the seal. Yes. I cried. 

I thought black guys crying was a myth. Until today. It wasn't even a particularly devastating circumstance either. It was a film that did it. Nevertheless, regardless of reason I should  have kept it all together right?

Make no mistake however. It wasn't a flooding affair,  bucket loads of  salty fluid -insert sexual innuendo- did not escape my eyes, Niagara Falls was not cascading the length of my face.

So what happened? Let me take you back in time..

The year is 2009. It is June and as it is my friend's birthday we are on our way to the Vue cinema in the O2 Arena to see Zombieland. Now I think you will agree that Zombieland is a reasonably manly film which is what helped fuel the rage when the ticket clerk tells me they were sold out. To make matters worse, the clerk then accuses me and another friend of being too young to see it anyway. In an effort to humiliate us further he smirks and says:"You could always watch UP, it's the film of the year!"

We all laugh, disregarding his statement as utter nonsense and head home for a testosterone fueling session of fast food and fifa. Good times.

Fast-forward to November 2012, a movie night with my uni buds. The tears are yet to come.

So we were watching Buried which put me in a severe state of depression (it's a really good film, check it out). My housemate suggests we find videos on YouTube  to cheer me up. "Oh, a Disney film Noel! This looks good!" *clicks play* *cue opening scene from UP*
Let's just say I went to bed with no faith left in humanity.

Anyway, today I happened to be browsing the films section of BBC iPlayer. Guess what film they have available? For 19 years no film has ever made me cry. Today all that changed. I lost my movie-tears virginity to UP. It really is a brilliant film, both the music and animation are outstanding.

Here I am 3 years later I will finally admit, THAT CLERK WAS RIGHT.

The seal is finally broken! 

Welcome

Hello and a very warm welcome to Zach Out! As this is my first post something should be made clear from the off.

Posts may contain expletives (I hate the term 'bad language' but that topic will be addressed at a later time) and content which some may find to be profane. Please do not take offense to the way I choose to express my thoughts. I'm just a soul whose intentions are good, so don't treat me like an animal.

Respect to you if you got that reference. Anyway, moving swiftly on, let me introduce myself properly. I come from a Jamaican family. No my name isn't Desmond, Omar or any other stereotypical name. My name is Noel and I'm 19. YES 19! Only two more years 'til the big 2-1, planning to have a boat party but, I digress. Being the fated middle child I flew the nest to find a greater purpose.

Currently at Bournemouth University studying computing and loving every second. The last few months have transformed me. I've grown way more confident and also happier. Maybe it's the fresh coastal breeze or the much needed break from London. Gazing at the world and I just want to take it all. Have I been listening to Nas too much? WRONG! There's no such thing as too much Nas. Amen.

In all honestly, this year is already looking very promising. I've been wanting to put my recently acquired skills into practice and have been finding every excuse not to. Then the realization hit me. Or rather a truth, a locked away secret, deep inside, something I once knew to be true... but chose to forget. The perfect time is NOW.

So here I am writing this blog, hoping with a hell of a lot of hard work  and perseverance this thing will work out. See you on the other side.