BOYT - Gag Reels

Having provided an audio replacement for text, next I offer you video.

Here is another selection of YouTube clips to make you smile. Once again my aim is to save you the pain of listening to Alex Zane's poor excuse for comedy on Rude Tube and take you straight to the cream of the crop.

Ever wondered how much comedy is improvised in a film? A lot. Luckily for us that means there are some pretty hilarious outtakes of the stuff that didn't quite make the cut.

Step Brothers

Superbad

The Hangover

Tunes

I had planned on actually writing some feature articles over this week but instead, I've made the journey home to Portsmouth. Late summer sun and the opportunity to see my family, for the last time until christmas, have conspired against me.

In place of these features then, to avoid my blog once again falling into obscurity, I offer you yet more music.

Heaven forbid that at some point you might actually get to read something on this thing!
Until then...

Aaliyah - If Your Girl Only Knew (Finnebassen Remix)

Booka Shade - Tomorrow Belongs To Us (Original Mix)

Compuphonic Ft. Marques Toliver - Sunset (Original Mix)

Florence + The Machine - Spectrum (Say My Name) (Calvin Harris Remix)

HNQO - Point of View

HNQO Ft. Effluence - Pain N' Love (Original Mix)

Jason Hodges - Our World (Main Mix)

Lee Jones - Moment (George FitzGerald Remix)

Made To Move - Perfect Lady (Original Mix)

Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover (Dimitri From Paris Re-Edit)

WebQueawry - Searching

Whitenoize - In My Younger Days (Original Mix)

As always... the tasters.

Lee Jones - Moment (George FitzGerald Remix)

Made To Move - Perfect Lady (Original Mix)

Whitenoize - In My Younger Days (Original Mix)

Best of YouTube

Animals do the funniest things.

Im an absolute sucker for a good YouTube video, hours of my life have been lost to this site. This is even more amazing when you consider each clip is only a matter of seconds.

Despite the fact so many clips have gone viral around the world there are still loads of brilliant clips people havent seen.

So I'm going to do a themed selection of YouTube clips every now and again to share in the hilarity. Luckily for you guys, to watch these clips you dont have to put up with Alex Zane's truly terrible jokes he insists on doing throughout the Rude Tube series.

So to kick things off is a selection of animal videos, all of which have had me in stitches at some point.

Polite Bear Waves Hello:

Funny Screaming Goat:

Bears on Bicycles:

Lamb Saying YEAH!:

Sick Dog:

Monkey on Bikes:

Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog:

ENJOY

Bits and Blogs is Back

Following a brief hiatus brought on by my having too much fun during the Edinburgh Festival I'm trying to get back into some regular posting.

To continue where I left off I've put together another small music playlist. I've really got back into my music recently especially following last night's return to the Edinburgh music scene. Jamie XX's performance at Edinburgh's Castle Club was incredible. The combination of speaker induced tinnitus, excellent support DJs and a low ceilinged sweatbox venue made it a night to remember.

So here is another selection of the tunes I've had on repeat recently:

Bondax - Baby I Got That (Justin Martin's Endless Summer Remix)

Roland Clark, Andre Crom, Martin Dawson - Back To The Future (Monte Remix)

Kyodai - Breaking (Original Mix)

DJ T Ft. Cari Golden - City Life (Maceo Plex Remix)

Rihanna Ft. A$AP Rocky - Cockiness (Remix)

Shadow Child & James Talk - Comb Over (Original Mix)

Machinedrum - 'DDD'

Justin Jay - Femme Fatale (Original Mix)

Kate Simko - Go On Then Ft. Jem Cooke (Original Mix)

Joris Voorn - Goodbye Fly (Original Mix)

TNGHT - Higher Ground

ODESZA - How Did I Get Here

Webqueawry - Searching (MAM Remix)

Last time I wrote a playlist I embedded all the zippyshare links for DL but was swiftly told to get them down by 'blogspot' or risk my blog being shut down. So remember, all these songs can be downloaded by simply copying and pasting the name followed by 'zippy' into google.

As always here are a select few to try before you buy / illegally download

Bondax - Baby I Got That (Justin Martin's Endless Summer Remix)

DJ T Ft. Cari Golden - City Life (Maceo Plex Remix)

Webqueawry - Searching (MAM Remix)

Officially a Clickworker

In a bid to try a make some money doing something other than arranging hangers and folding clothes in John Lewis I recently signed up to the freelance writing website http://www.clickworker.com/en/

On here you can write text, do research or translate for money. I signed up for the writing and before I was allowed to begin I was given a small test.

I had to write a 120 word film review . The film I chose was 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Weirdly I got a very specific mark for tis small piece but it was a pass and I am now embarking on my first paid writing pieces.

I was awarded a score of 83% and this is what I wrote...

'The Dark Knight Infuriates'

Christopher Nolan’s final installment to his Batman trilogy could not have been more hotly anticipated.

The film delivers a thrilling denouement, with all the explosions and impressive CGI we have come to expect. Bruce Wayne’s ‘happily ever after’ offers a sense of fulfillment, whilst Nolan’s portrayal of Robin as Batman’s legacy, rather than as his sidekick, offers excitement for the future.

The film, however, lacked the linchpin that made its predecessor a success. An exceptional villain. Bane was often indecipherable and his backstory ill-explained. Despite all his posturing Bane lacked the Joker’s depth of character.

In so many ways this film lived up to it’s billing, whilst in a few it came up staggeringly short.

What Makes A Good Writer?

http://www.prospectsolution.com/

This website offers another opportunity for people to make a bit of money doing some writing.

This time I had to squeeze into 120 words 'what makes a good writer?'

I was gently told I had not been immediately successful but my attempt would be kept on record for future reference. Nevertheless I thought I would share what I managed to come up with in that short space...

What makes a good writer can be considered both objectively and subjectively. Objectively a good writer is simply anyone with excellent spelling and grammar; subjectively this question is more difficult to answer.

Today a good writer is someone who can successfully compete for a reader’s interest against the different media that are only a mouse click away.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many is a video worth? These media provide so much information in such a small space that they easily capture the ever-shortening attention span of today’s mouse-clickers.

A good writer is someone who is able to avert a reader’s eyes from these flashing lights. Someone who can construct an argument or tell a story in a way that holds the readers attention.  A good writer is someone who can force a reader into taking their time, into becoming engrossed, to really think about something.

Getting them out of my system!

To ensure that I do not go overboard with the music on this blog I am making this my last music post for a while....so I will try and make it a good one!

Both playlists recently have been very genre specific, which may not have been to everyones tastes. Here Im going to try and touch a few more bases in the hope that everyone might walk away with at least one new tune they like.

My first group of songs is in response to the news that my pals at We Own have a night featuring the AMAZING Disclosure. Out of nowhere these guys have got absolutely huge and depressingly they are incredibly young too! They are most famous for their remix of Jessie Ware's 'Running' but here Im hopefully going to give you a few more to sink your teeth into.

Disclosure - What's in Your Head?

Disclosure - Control

Disclosure - My Intention is War (Fig ii) (they have another version of this song but this is my fave)

I also have here a link to a recent set they did at the Boiler Room - if they do anything like this when they perform for We Own I will be extremely happy!

Next are just a few random party tunes I'm listening to at the moment...

Martin Solveig - The Night Out (A-Trak Remix)

Ellie Goulding - Lights (Joker Remix) 

Mak and Pasteman - Do the Same (VIP)

Joe Garston - Forever

Finally... I really recommend a YouTube channel called MajesticCasual, found here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/majesticcasual

The guy has a really cool selection of songs from all different types of music, a few of which are below:

Bondax - Wet Summer

Ellie Goulding - High For This (The Weekend Cover)

WEKEED - Wild Child

Digital Farm Animals - Aint That Peculiar

Sweet Willie-Brown - Swag

Have a further look into this guy...although this tune above is very UKGarage he has a lot of Hip-Hop clips and other cool stuff on his Soundcloud.

Trap-Music?!

With Dubstep dying a slow and painful death - to the point you almost feel sorry for it - I'm now looking to new places to find that bass that makes you tingle.

My search has taken me back full circle to where I first satisfied my love of bass music...the world of Rap and Hip-Hop. The influences of bass-heavy electronic music have begun to sneak into modern Hip-Hop, as can be seen in a lot of Jay Z and Kanye's 'Watch The Throne' Album. Producers like Hit-Boy, Lunice and HudMo are gaining huge popularity in the production of Hip-Hop for major artists - whilst still producing their own individual pieces.

This more electronic and heavy-hitting form of Hip-Hop has been classified as 'Trap-Music' but I disagree with this obsession concerning genre in the music world. The artists themselves refer to it as Rap music - so that is what it is.

Regardless of its name I love it, and in the face of my previous music posts I present to you my Hip-Hop / 'Trap-Music' playlist. Just to add a bit more oomph to the chill that is Deep House.

P.S - check out Baauer's stuff on youtube if you like it - he's got a lot more but this is the only DL link i could find (same goes for Lunice)

P.P.S - end of July sees TNGHT (AKA Lunice X HudMo) release a record, if you like any of their individual stuff the tunes they have upcoming are sure to blow you away.

A$AP Rocky & Swizz Beatz - Street Knock

A$AP Rocky - Goldie

Baauer - Harlem Shake

Figgy - Talk That Talk

Gucci Mane - Party Animal (HudMo Remix)

Birdman - BBoyz

Zeds Dead & Omar LinX - No Prayer (Keys N Krates Remix)

And Finally....... A couple of videos.

Proof of the respect HudMo is gaining in the USA

Not really in keeping with the rest of the post but man I WISH I was in OddFuture they have too much fun making good tunes.

Summer House

No one ever seems to listen to a song and say, 'yeah that'll be my winter tune' - good music is always associated with fun in the sun. Sadly in Britain the sun doesn't seem to exist anymore but we can still have some great summer tunes.

This list is exclusively House orientated and is pretty much a follow on from my previous playlist as I continue to poach from Bristol. On top of this, however, I found a new technique of simply going to Beatport and listening through their Top 100 and noting down all the songs I liked. Their popularity pretty much ensures that if you type in the title of the song followed by the word 'zippy' a download file will appear. This is so much better than converting from YouTube with most of the file sizes being around 13-14Mb so you know its decent quality.

So without further hesitation here is my newest House playlist:

Amine Edge & Dance - Going to Heaven with the Goodie-Goodies
Daniel Dexter - Work Your Body (Audiojack Remix)
Daniel Dexter - Today
Danke - We Play Life (Andrey Loud Remix)
Finnebassen - Touching Me
Flashmob - Need in Me
George Fitzgerald - Child
Goldroom - Fifteen (Oxford Remix)
Joris Delacroix - Air France
Kindness - Gee Up (Erol Alkan's Extended Rework)
Nice7 - Time to Get Physical
Nice7 - Back to 90
Phunk Investigation and Schumacher - Critical
Robosonic - Worst Love
Tom Demac - Dirty Honey
Waze and Odyssey - Ah Baby

Ill give links to a few of my favourites so you can get an idea of the kind of music on here and if you think they're up your street search the rest, download and enjoy!

Daniel Dexter is a revelation to me and a bit of sexy sax never goes amiss.

Super popular on Beatport so you know its good.

This one simply because of the wicked sample used that everyone should recognise.

The Best Job in Football?

Now bear with me because what I am about to propose may shock a few of you, but - regardless of my position as a Portsmouth supporter - I propose that Michael Appleton’s job is far more exciting than may initially seem the case. There are, of course, several caveats to this statement; like the looming specter of liquidation but as the saying goes, “every cloud…” And so, ‘IF’ - and some may argue that this is a big ‘IF’ - Portsmouth are able to find a new owner before the money runs out, then Michael Appleton will find himself in a fairly unique position.

A recent statement came out of the club suggesting that of the current squad, which was relegated from the Championship, probably only 4 will remain for the tour of League 1. This is understandable considering some shocking statistics based on wage bills in 2010. Whilst Portsmouth went into administration and were relegated to the Championship, Tottenham propelled themselves into the Champions League. Despite this, ESPN report that out of the 200 top sports teams in the world Portsmouth had the 72^nd highest wage bill compared to Tottenham who ranked at 110^th. Overall the average Portsmouth player was earning a full $10,000 more each week (sorry about the currency, ESPN is American after all). In light of these ridiculous numbers, and with so many relics of this regime still remaining at the club, it is unsurprising that the aim of cutting the wage bill is at the top of Portsmouth’s agenda. This means that the close season will see approximately 18 players exit Fratton Park and 18 new arrivals.

Is my argument now becoming clearer? Appleton has the opportunity to build his own squad from scratch, there is no need to deal with the inherited players of the previous manager, and there is no need to fit your tactics around the players available to you. Instead there will be an opportunity to have a vision of what style of football he wants to play and to build the squad he feels can achieve this vision.

Michael Appleton’s potential, with regards to building a League 1 team, is excellent. His loan signings, which have already been put on display at the end of this campaign, are inspired. His grounding in youth football at West Brom, along with connections to high profile clubs, make the prospect of young exciting talents - yet unable to break into the First XI of their parent clubs - arriving at Fratton Park a growing possibility. Marry this to the fact that Portsmouth will be the big name in League 1 next season and it will be a very likely promotion candidate. If Appleton is successfully able to convey that the club’s time in League 1 is only a short one, then all those players looking, and hoping, to cut their teeth in the Championship will surely see Portsmouth as an attractive offer.

There is no doubting Portsmouth are still in a terrible position but one only needs to look at the build of Michael Appleton to understand that this is a man that enjoys hard graft. He is also a man with a vision - not just for the First XI but also for the whole infrastructure of the club. Trevor Birch’s ‘hands off’ warning to all possible suitors of the young manager suggests that everyone at the club sees Appleton as the man to take the club forward. So not only does Appleton have the opportunity to build but he is also in the uncommon position of a manager with the full confidence of the club’s executives in his decision-making.

With the opportunity to build the club up from scratch and with the full confidence of the clubs management this is an exciting time. Of course the pay cheque Appleton receives every month will not be substantial and the quality of player under his tutelage will not be extraordinary but this is about a project. There will be no glitz or glamour but if Appleton is able to bring Portsmouth from its deepest depths back to where it belongs, and on a system by which the club lives within its means, then it will be a fantastic success and one he will be able to look upon with enormous pride.

This plaque was recently found outside Fratton Park as fans looked to mourn the woeful situation. Hopefully, however, given this opportunity, Mr. Appleton can go about restoring some pride.

Also for all those who doubt that those ridiculous statistics could possibly be true check them here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=6354899

Deep and Funky

I recently got added to a Facebook group by one of my friends at the University of Bristol in which he and his friends share music they enjoy listening to. Its highly competitive as each attempts to find a song no one has heard before. As yet I have been too timid to post my own music but it has introduced me to some brilliant new songs.

You dont need to know much about the music scenes of individual British cities to realise that Bristol is at the forefront. In truth its actually really interesting to watch how long what is perceived as 'cool' takes to reach Edinburgh from Bristol.

The latest genre that fills this Facebook group but is only beginning to surface in Edinburgh is a mixture of Deep and Funky House music: here is a list of some of the ones Ive lifted so far!

Klangkarussell - Sonnentanz
Lee M. Kelsall - On the Road (Matt Fear Remix)
Gregor Salto ft. Florian T - Mundocaso
Storm Queen - Look Right Through (MK Don't Talk To Me Dub)
NTFO - Policron (Audiojack Remix)
Alex Q - Last Song
Laura Jones - Love in Me (Maceo Plex Remix)
Jessie Ware - 110%
Disclosure - Boiling ft. Sinead Harnett
Disclosure - Tenderly
Ifan Dafydd  - Treehouse
Bondax ft. Bobbie Gordon - Just Smile For Me
Bondax - Just Us
Mosca - Jager
Rodriguez Jr - Orinoco (Joris Delacroix Remix)
DJ Duke - Can You Feel It (Carnival Mix)
Claptone - Good To You
Doctor Dru - The Voice Of Dru